Purpose of review: Multivessel coronary artery disease is frequently encountered in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Several moderate-sized randomized trials have suggested that complete revascularization of non-culprit stenoses in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients without cardiogenic shock is associated with improved outcomes driven solely by a reduction in the risk of future revascularization.
Recent findings: The Complete versus Culprit-only Revascularization to Treat Multi-vessel disease after Early PCI for STEMI (COMPLETE) trial recently showed that a complete revascularization strategy for non-culprit stenoses for STEMI patients without cardiogenic shock, performed either during the index hospitalization or after discharge, reduces the risk of cardiac mortality or myocardial infarction (MI) driven by a reduction in the risk of MI at a median of 3 years. In STEMI patients without cardiogenic shock undergoing primary PCI, a complete revascularization strategy for non-culprit stenoses, performed either during the index hospitalization or shortly after discharge, improves outcomes and should be considered as the default strategy whenever feasible.
Keywords: Major adverse cardiac events; Mortality; Myocardial infarction; Revascularization.