Study examines multivessel mortality rates

(Medical Xpress) -- A new study led by University at Albany School of Public Health Distinguished Professor Emeritus Edward L. Hannan finds a link between higher mortality rates and incomplete revascularization procedures for patients suffering from multivessel disease.

According to a population-based study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, for patients who receive percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with bare metal stents (BMS) -- a commonly used revascularization procedure for patients with coronary artery disease -- incomplete revascularization (IR) is associated with higher mortality risk as late as eight years after treatment.

The team studied 13,016 patients with multivessel coronary artery disease who underwent BMS implantation between 1999 and 2000. The researchers discovered that complete revascularization (CR), in which all diseased vessels have been successfully stented, occurred in only 29.2 percent of patients.

Hannan's team examined the eight-year survival rate of patients with IR vs. CR patients. The respective 8-year survival rates were 78.5 percent for IR patients and 80.8 for CR patients, respectively. The risk of death was higher for IR patients.

The study concludes that IR may be associated with a higher risk of mortality during long-term follow-up after coronary stenting with BMS in patients with multivessel disease.

"These findings should be considered in determining how PCI is performed and in selecting the most appropriate means of revascularization, such as PCI or coronary artery bypass graft surgery," said Hannan.