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BACKGROUND: Compared with everolimus-eluting metallic stents, the Absorb bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) results in increased rates of myocardial infarction (MI) and scaffold thrombosis (ST) during its three-year bioresorption phase. It is unknown whether prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) duration might decrease the risk of ischaemic events. AIMS: We sought to evaluate the impact of DAPT duration on ischaemic and bleeding outcomes following BRS implantation. METHODS: We conducted an individual patient data pooled analysis from four ABSORB randomised trials and one prospective ABSORB registry. Study endpoints were MI, ST, bleeding, and death up to three-year follow-up. Propensity score-adjusted Cox regression analysis was used to account for baseline differences related to DAPT duration. RESULTS: The five ABSORB studies included 2,973 patients. DAPT use was 91.7%, 53.2%, and 48.0% at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. DAPT use within the first year after BRS implantation was associated with markedly lower risks of MI (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.17, 95% CI: 0.10-0.32; p

BACKGROUND A large, prospective, multicentre trial recently showed that fractional flow reserve (FFR) derived from coronary angiography (FFRangio) has an accuracy of 92% compared with conventional guidewire-based FFR (FFRwire); however, little is known about whether specific patient/lesion characteristics affect the diagnostic performance. AIMS The primary goal of the present study was to investigate whether specific patient or lesion characteristics such as high body mass index (BMI), presentation with an acute coronary syndrome, or lesion location affect the diagnostic performance of FFRangio in patients enrolled in the FAST-FFR study. METHODS FFRangio was measured in a blinded fashion in 301 patients (319 vessels) who were undergoing FFRwire assessment. Using an FFRwire ≤0.80 as a reference, the diagnostic performance of FFRangio was compared in pre-specified subgroups. RESULTS The mean FFRwire and FFRangio were 0.81±0.13 and 0.80±0.12. Overall, FFRangio had a sensitivity of 93.5% and specificity of 91.2% for predicting FFRwire. Patient characteristics including age, sex, clinical presentation, body mass index, and diabetes did not affect sensitivity or specificity (p>0.05 for all). Similarly, lesion characteristics including calcification and tortuosity did not affect sensitivity or specificity (p>0.05 for all), nor did lesion location (proximal, middle, versus distal). Sensitivity was equally high across all target vessels, while specificity was highest in the LAD and lower (~85%) in the RCA and LCx (p

AIMS Bleeding is a major safety outcome in cardiovascular trials. The present study assessed the impact of the adjudication process of bleeding events on three-year outcomes in the Harmonizing Outcomes with Revascularization and Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction (HORIZONS-AMI) trial. METHODS AND RESULTS HORIZONS-AMI enrolled 3,602 patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention. An independent CEC reviewed 445 potential bleeding events identified from three sources: 339 site-reported (SR), 35 CEC-identified, and 71 database (DB)-triggered events based on programmatic identification of a decline in haemoglobin of ≥3 g/dL or in haematocrit by ≥9%; of those, 383/445 (86.1%) met the protocol definition of major bleeding. By multivariable analysis, CEC-confirmed bleeding was an independent predictor of cardiovascular death (hazard ratio [HR] 2.84, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.81-4.45, p