Background: The impact of left circumflex coronary artery (LCX) ostium atherosclerosis in left main coronary artery (LM) bifurcation disease is not well-known.
Aim: The study aimed to assess whether the involvement of LCX ostium carries prognostic implications in patients undergoing unprotected LM percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
Methods: Consecutive 564 patients with unprotected LM (ULMCA) disease who underwent LM PCI between January 2015 and February 2021, with at least 1 year of available follow-up were included in the study. The first group was composed of 145 patients with ULMCA disease with LCX ostium stenosis, and the second group consisted of 419 patients with ULMCA disease without LCX ostium stenosis.
Results: Patients in the group with ULMCA disease with LCX ostium stenosis were significantly older and had more comorbidities. The two-stent technique was used more often in the group with LCX ostium stenosis (62.8% vs. 14.6%; P <0.001). During 7-year follow-up, all-cause mortality did not differ significantly between groups with and without LCX ostium stenosis (P = 0.50). The use of one-stent or two-stent technique also did not impact mortality in patients with LCX ostial lesions (P = 0.75). Long-term mortality subanalysis for three groups of patients: (1) patients with LM plus LCX ostium stenosis; (2) LM plus left anterior descending artery (LAD) ostium stenosis; (3) LM plus LCX ostium plus LAD ostium stenosis also did not differ significantly (P = 0.63).
Conclusions: LCX ostium involvement in LM disease PCI is not associated with adverse long-term outcomes, which is highly beneficial for the Heart Team's decision-making process.
Keywords: left circumflex coronary artery ostium; percutaneous coronary intervention; unprotected left main coronary artery.