Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the impact of renin-angiotensin system blockade (RASB) therapy with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers on the outcomes of coronary artery ectasia (CAE).
Methods: The CAE patients identified by coronary angiography from our center were consecutively enrolled. We obtained the baseline discharge prescription of RASB from the medical records system and conducted follow-up through telephone interviews. Cox regression models, propensity score and subgroup analysis were used to assess the impact of RASB on all-cause mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction. Both the unadjusted and adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves stratified by RASB therapy were plotted.
Results: There were 595 patients with CAE in total and 333 (56.0%) were prescribed RASB therapy. Over a 2 year follow-up time, 16 all-cause deaths and 10 non-fatal myocardial infarctions were identified. Those patients treated with RASB had a significantly lower all-cause mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction rate with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.32 (95% confidence interval: 0.13 to 0.77, p = .011). The outcome benefits of RASB therapy were further confirmed in the propensity score analysis and subgroup analysis.
Conclusions: This observational study suggests that RASB therapy is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction in patients with CAE.
Keywords: Coronary artery ectasia; angiotensin receptor antagonists; angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors; renin angiotensin system; treatment outcomes.