Aim: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent implantation is a well known risk factor leading to an increased rates of stroke, cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction. Anyway there are few data on very-long term outcome (more than 1 year follow up) of PAD after stent implantation. We thus aimed to evaluate the influence of PAD on very long-term outcome of our PCI-population.
Methods: We retrospectively identified all patients undergoing PCI with stent implantation at our center between July 2002 and June 2004, and thus eligible for at least 4 years of follow-up. For the purpose of this study, we considered a diagnosis of PAD based on clinical evaluation and/or angiographic documentation. We adjudicated the following clinical events: death, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization, and their composite (i.e. major adverse cardiac events, MACE). RESULTS; A total of 1008 patients were included, 109 with PAD and 899 Without PAD. Those with had more often diabetes (35% vs. 25%, P=0.002), hypertension (83% vs. 68%, P=0.001) and unfavorable basal clinical condition at the start of this study: past-Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) (30% vs. 22%, P=0.005), past-Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) (24% vs. 14%, P=0.001), ejection fraction (EF) <35% (14% vs. 7%, P=0.02) and chronic renal failure (CRF) (15% vs. 6%, P=0.002). In addiction patient with PAD were more likely to have chronic total occlusion (CTO) (36% vs. 25%, p=0.02) and unprotected left main (16% vs. 8%,P=0.01). Clinical outcome at the time of follow-up (4,42 ± 1,66 years) was as follow: Revascularization (53% vs. 37%, P=0.002), Cardiac death (21% vs. 13%, P=0.04), MACE (69% vs. 49%, p<.001). Independent predictors of MACE according to our survival analysis were: PAD (HR 1.31; 95% CI 1.01-1.69), Age >75 (HR 1.23; 95% CI 1-1.51), Chronic heart failure (HR1.72; 95% CI 1.19-2.5), Unprotected left main (HR 1.48; 95% CI 1.12-1.96).
Conclusion: This long-term registry shows that PAD remains an important clinical condition that negatively influences the outcome of patients undergoing PCI with stent implantation in a very long-term follow-up period.