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Background: The American College of Cardiology / American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) introduced a coronary lesion classification in 1988 to stratify coronary lesions for probability of procedural success and complications after coronary angioplasty. Our aim is to assess the validity of the ACC/AHA lesion classification in predicting outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a contemporary cohort of patients., Methods: Consecutive PCI procedures performed between 2005 and 2018, were divided into three periods. At each period, the ACC/AHA lesion classification (A, B1, B2, C) was analysed with respect to procedural characteristics, in-hospital and 30-day outcomes, as well as long-term mortality by linkage to the National Death Index (NDI)., Results: In total, 21,437 lesions were included with 7399 lesions (2005-2009), 6917 lesions (2010-2014) and 7121 lesions (2015-2018). There was a progressive increase in the number of complex lesions treated over time with ACC/AHA type C (15 %, 21 % and 26 %, p < 0.01). The rate of PCI procedural success decreased with increase in the complexity of lesions treated across all three periods (p < 0.01). Further, in-hospital and 30-day major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) increased across all three time periods (all p < 0.05)., Conclusions: Our study validates the ACC/AHA lesion classification as a meaningful tool for prediction of PCI outcomes. Despite advances in PCI techniques and technology, complex lesion PCI defined by this classification continues to be associated with adverse outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Dion Stub reports a relationship with National Heart Foundation of Australia that includes: funding grants. Dion Stub reports a relationship with National Health and Medical Research Council that includes: funding grants. Disclosure A/Prof. Dion Stub is supported by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council fellowships., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Embolic protection devices were developed to reduce the risk of common complications encountered during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of saphenous vein grafts, however, in the setting of contemporary multi-modality medical management, their overall efficacy has been called into question. This study aimed to assess the evolving utilization and clinical outcomes associated with distal filter wire embolic protection devices in saphenous vein PCI., Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing PCI to a saphenous vein graft in a registry were included. Peri-procedural and long-term outcomes including 12-month mortality and 30-day MACCE rates were compared between PCI using a distal filter wire embolic protection device and unprotected PCI., Results: From 2005 to 2020, a total of 753 patients underwent PCI to a saphenous vein graft with 256 using a distal filter wire embolic protection device. At one year, the use of a distal filter wire embolic protection devices was not associated with a decrease in mortality (4.7 % vs 5.4 %, p = 0.19) and there was no difference in 30-day MACCE rates between protected and unprotected saphenous vein PCI (3.1 % vs 5.8 %, p = 0.10)., Conclusion: In this 12-month analysis of saphenous vein graft PCI, there was no evidence that distal filter wire embolic protection devices improved short term post procedural or long-term mortality outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Guidelines and international appropriate use criteria increasingly endorse non-invasive stress testing to evaluate patients with suspected chronic coronary disease (CCD). We sought to review the real-world utilisation of non-invasive stress testing and investigate whether their use prior to PCI associates with outcomes in patients with CCD., Methods: Consecutive patients from a multicentre registry who underwent PCI for CCD between 2006 and 2018 were included. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were stratified according to whether stress testing was performed prior to PCI (stress vs no-stress groups). The primary outcome was 3-year all-cause mortality., Results: Among the 8251 patients included, 4970 (60.2 %) underwent pre-PCI stress testing and this proportion increased over time (p-for-trend<0.001). The stress group had a lower prevalence of prior revascularization, myocardial infarction, or heart failure, and a lower incidence of triple vessel disease, in stent re-stenosis, and ACC/AHA class B2/C lesions (all p < 0.001). When comparing post-procedural outcomes, the stress group had lower rates of arrhythmia (1.5 % vs 2.6 %, p = 0.001), new heart failure (0.2 % vs 0.8 %, p = 0.001), renal impairment, and a shorter length of stay (1.6 vs 2.1 days, p < 0.001). Mortality at 3-years was lower in those undergoing PCI following stress testing (5.8 % vs 8.8 %, p < 0.001). After adjusting for key clinical variables, stress guided revascularization was associated with a significantly lower risk of 3-year mortality (adjusted Hazard Ratio 0.77, 95 % CI 0.64-0.92)., Conclusions: In patients with CCD, PCI guided by non-invasive stress testing is increasingly utilized and associated with improved survival. Further studies are necessary to investigate whether this results from differences in patient characteristics, optimized patient selection, or refined choice of target vessel., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Current evidence suggests that percutaneous coronary intervention for unprotected left main coronary artery disease (LMPCI) in selected patients is a safe alternative to coronary artery bypass grafting. However, real-world long-term survival data is limited., Methods: We analyzed 24,644 patients from the MIG (Melbourne Interventional Group) registry between 2005 and 2020. We compared baseline clinical and procedural characteristics, in-hospital and 30-day outcomes, and long-term survival between unprotected LMPCI and non-LMPCI among patients without ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, or cardiac arrest., Results: Unprotected LMPCI patients (n = 185) were significantly older (mean age 72.0 vs. 64.6 years, p < 0.001), had higher prevalence of impaired ejection fraction (EF <50 %; 27.3 % vs. 14.9 %, p < 0.001) and lower estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min/1.73m 2 (40.9 % vs. 21.5 %, p < 0.001), and had greater use of intravascular ultrasound (21 % vs. 1 %, p < 0.001) and drug-eluting stents (p < 0.001). LMPCI was associated with longer hospital stay (4 days vs. 2 days, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in other in-hospital outcomes, 30-day mortality (0.6 % vs. 0.6 %, p = 0.90), and major adverse cardiac events (1.7 % vs. 3 %, p = 0.28). Although the unadjusted Kaplan-Meier survival to 8 years was significantly less with LMPCI compared to non-LMPCI (p < 0.01), LMPCI was not a predictor of long-term survival up to 8 years after Cox regression analysis (HR 0.67, 95 % CI 0.40-1.13, p = 0.13)., Conclusion: In this study, non-emergent unprotected LMPCI was uncommonly performed, and IVUS was underutilized. Despite greater co-morbidities, LMPCI patients had comparable 30-day outcomes to non-LMPCI, and LMPCI was not an independent predictor of long-term mortality., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Dion Stub reports a relationship with National Heart Foundation of Australia that includes: funding grants. Dion Stub reports a relationship with National Health and Medical Research Council that includes: funding grants., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Patient selection and procedural characteristics continue to evolve in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Australian data on long-term trends and outcomes are limited. This study aimed to identify long-term temporal trends in patient characteristics and outcomes in a large Australian PCI cohort., Methods: We analysed data from 41,146 PCI procedures included in the multi-centre Melbourne Interventional Group registry to determine trends in patient characteristics, procedural practices and outcomes from 2005 to 2018. Procedures were divided into 2-yearly periods for trends analysis., Results: Temporal trends in patient characteristics showed increases in age, proportion of males, rates of obesity, insulin-requiring diabetes mellitus, current smoking, obstructive sleep apnoea and prior PCI (all P trend  < 0.01). Increases in the proportion of ST-elevation myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock or out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) were observed, and CathPCI National Cardiovascular Data Registry mortality risk scores increased over time (all P trend  < 0.01). Use of radial access and drug-eluting stents increased, and lesions treated were more frequently ostial, left main or ACC/AHA type B2/C in recent years (all P trend  < 0.01). In contrast, major bleeding and no reflow rates declined, however 30-day mortality, 12-month mortality and rates of stroke increased (all P trend  < 0.01). Rates of vascular complications and 30-day target vessel revascularisation remained similar. In multivariable analysis, 2-yearly time periods were not independently associated with risk of 30-day mortality or 30-day MACE., Conclusions: Over the last 14 years, Australian PCI procedural complexity and patient risk profiles have increased. Higher mortality rates appear to relate to increased patient risk profile rather than procedural factors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None declared., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Door-to-balloon time (DTBT) less than 90min remains the benchmark of timely reperfusion in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The relative long-term benefit of timely reperfusion in STEMI patients with differing risk profiles is less certain. Thus, we aimed to assess the impact of DTBT on long-term mortality in high- and low-risk STEMI patients., Method: We analysed baseline clinical and procedural characteristics of 2539 consecutive STEMI patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from the Melbourne Interventional Group registry from 2004 to 2012. Patients were classified high risk (HR-STEMI) if they presented with cardiogenic shock, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) or Killip class ≥2; or low-risk (LR-STEMI) if there were no high-risk features. We then stratified high- and low-risk patients by DTBT (≤90min vs. >90min) and assessed long-term mortality., Result: Of the 2539 patients, 395 (16%) met the high-risk criteria. A DTBT ≤90min was achieved in 43% of HR-STEMI patients and in 55% of LR-STEMI patients. Patients in the HR-STEMI compared to LR-STEMI cohort had higher in-hospital (31% vs. 1%, p<0.01) and long-term mortality (37% vs. 7%, p<0.01). A DTBT ≤90min was associated with significant improvements in short- and long-term mortality in both groups. A DTBT ≤90min was an independent multivariate predictor of long-term survival in LR-STEMI (hazard ratio [HR] 0.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.3-0.9, p=0.02) but not in HR-STEMI (HR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-1.1, p=0.11)., Conclusion: A DTBT ≤90min was associated with improved short- and long-term outcomes in high- and low-risk STEMI patients. However, it was only an independent predictor of long-term survival in LR-STEMI patients., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.)