Comparison of major complication rates with new atherectomy devices for percutaneous coronary intervention in women versus men

Abstract

Previous reports suggested that the risk of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is greater in women than in men. 1–3 The initial National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) PTCA Registry (1977 to 1981) reported a greater overall hospital mortality for women, and multivariate analysis identified female gender as an independent predictor of hospital mortality after PTCA. 1 When the more recent NHLBI PTCA Registry data were analyzed, female gender was a predictor of in-hospital mortality after PTCA. Coronary atherectomy has introduced a new approach to percutaneous revascularization by removing the atherosclerotic plaque within the arterial lumen as compared with PTCA in which the plaque is compressed against the arterial wall. Although the risk of PTCA may be greater in women, it is not known if the coronary arterial response to atherectomy may be different between men and women, leading to a difference in major complications. We reviewed 379 atherectomy procedures performed at our institution to determine if the risk of coronary atherectomy was increased in women.