Clinical impact of peripheral artery disease on acute coronary syndrome

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Peripheral artery disease (PAD) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are two diseases with high morbidity and mortality and, sometimes, may be present simultaneously, making patient management more complex. Purpose This study sought to characterize and evaluate the prognostic impact of PAD in patients with an ACS. Methods This was a retrospective study of patients admitted with an ACS, periodically included in a national multicenter registry, between October 2010 and September 2019. Results Of a total of 26036 patients, 1429 had previous history of PAD. This group had a higher predominance of men (79,5% vs 72,0%, p<0,001) and was older (71±11 years vs 66±14 years, p<0,001). Besides having a higher burden of cardiovascular risk factors, they also had more past history of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and chronic kidney disease. In patients with PAD, non-ST segment elevation MI was the most frequent type of MI (58,6% vs 45,0%, p<0,001) and left ventricular ejection fraction assessed during hospitalization was lower (49±13% vs 51±12%, p<0,001). These patients were submitted less frequently to a coronary angiography (74,0% vs 85,2%, p<0,001) and, when performed, more cases of multivessel coronary artery disease were found (70,6% vs 50,4%, p<0,001). Nevertheless, they were less likely to undergo revascularization, with fewer angioplasties performed (47,8% vs 64,7%, p<0,001), despite the greater number of coronary artery bypass grafting (9,0% vs 6,0%, p<0,001). Both during hospitalization and at discharge, ticagrelor, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors were less prescribed in the PAD group. Statins prescription was also lower, but only at discharge. In a multivariate regression analysis, we found that, during hospitalization, the presence of PAD was associated with a significant higher risk of myocardial reinfarction (OR 1,90 (CI 1,18–3,06)) and death (OR 1,43 (CI 1,03–2,00)). In addition, there was a tendency for more strokes (OR 1,88 (CI 0,98–3,61)). During a 1-year follow-up, PAD was also independently associated with a significant increase in mortality (HR 1,50 (CI 1,16–1,95)). Conclusions PAD is a disease present in patients with a higher number of comorbidities and is associated with more severe coronary events. Nevertheless, these patients seem to receive less evidence-based therapy. In this study, PAD was independently associated with a significant increase in short and medium-term major adverse events. Kaplan-Meier curves of 1-year follow-up Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None