Coronary vasospasm and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with isolated myocardial bridging: A retrospective study.

Abstract

Mounting evidence suggests an associated between myocardial bridging (MB) and coronary vasospasm (CVS); however, no consensus has been established on whether CVS worsens clinical outcomes in patients with MB. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to compare the long-term clinical outcomes in patients with MB based on CVS presence. This retrospective study enrolled 254 consecutive patients with MB undergoing provocative testing for coronary reactivity between January 1, 2009 and December 30, 2015, and stratified them into 2 groups: (a) group A (with CVS, n = 168); and (b) group B (without CVS, n = 86). The primary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), a composite of cardiac death, cardiac arrest, non-fatal myocardial infarction, ischemia-driven revascularization, ischemia-driven coronary angiography, and ischemia-related hospitalization. Diverse Cox models were used to determine whether CVS independently influenced MACE. The mean age of study participants was 50.8 years, and 60.2% of them were male. The median follow-up period was 8.15 years. The rate of MACE was 35.1% and 26.7% in groups A and B, respectively. Group A had a significantly higher risk of MACE than group B (the reference group) in model 3 (hazard ratio [HR]:1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.12-3.29) and model 4 (adjusted HR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.04-3.59). The presence of CVS adversely affects clinical outcomes in patients with MB. Further prospective clinical studies are required to confirm this association.