sirolimus and No-Reflow-Phenomenon

These studies sought to investigate the impact on mortality of coronary flow after passage of the wire through the culprit vessel in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing mechanical reperfusion.. Reduced spontaneous coronary flow before percutaneous coronary intervention influences mortality in patients with STEMI. Response to vessel wiring in patients with an occluded coronary artery before intervention might further discriminate outcomes irrespective of pre- and post-intervention coronary flow.. Data from the STRATEGY (Single High-Dose Bolus Tirofiban and Sirolimus-Eluting Stent Versus Abciximab and Bare-Metal Stent in Acute Myocardial Infarction) and MULTISTRATEGY (Multicenter Evaluation of Single High-Dose Bolus Tirofiban Versus Abciximab With Sirolimus-Eluting Stent or Bare-Metal Stent in Acute Myocardial Infarction Study) trials were pooled: of 919 index procedures, 902 films (98%) were technically adequate for core laboratory TIMI (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction) flow determination.. TIMI flow grade 0 was present before percutaneous coronary intervention in 59% of infarct vessels, TIMI flow grade 1 to 2 was found in 21%, whereas the remainder of infarct arteries presented with TIMI flow grade 3. In 49% of patients who showed persistent TIMI flow grade 0 after wire insertion (AWI), mortality was higher at 30 days (5.3%) and 1 year (9.4%) compared with patients in whom TIMI flow grade before percutaneous coronary intervention was either >0 (0.8%; p < 0.003 and 3.6%, p < 0.008) or improved from 0 AWI (1.5%, p < 0.04 and 3.6%, p < 0.02). After correcting for multiple imbalances, including baseline and final flow, persistent TIMI flow grade 0 AWI remained associated at 30 days to 2-fold (risk ratio [RR]: 2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08 to 5.00; p = 0.038) and at 1 year to almost 3-fold increases of mortality (RR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.3 to 5.6; p = 0.008).. STEMI patients displaying persistent no-flow AWI have a lower survival rate despite an apparently successful mechanical intervention. As an early marker for high residual mortality risk, persistent no-flow AWI may qualify STEMI patients for dedicated pharmacomechanical treatment strategies.

Topics: Abciximab; Aged; Analysis of Variance; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Cardiovascular Agents; Coronary Angiography; Coronary Circulation; Drug-Eluting Stents; Evidence-Based Medicine; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Male; Metals; Middle Aged; Multicenter Studies as Topic; Myocardial Infarction; No-Reflow Phenomenon; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; Predictive Value of Tests; Proportional Hazards Models; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Sirolimus; Stents; Time Factors; Tirofiban; Treatment Outcome; Tyrosine

A 78-year-old man with unstable angina showed 90% stenosis in the proximal left anterior descending artery. Pre-procedural intravascular ultrasound revealed ruptured plaque and attenuated plaque in the lesion. Under these conditions, two overlapping sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) implantation in this lesion resulted in slow flow which was recovered by intracoronary nitrates, nicorandil, and nitroprusside without further complications. When the patient showed up again 5 years later with recurrence of angina pectoris, angiography revealed a hazy ulcerated in-stent restenosis (ISR) at the site of the SES. Pre-procedural optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging revealed multiple intimal ruptures, cavity formation behind the stent struts, a thin-cap fibroatheroma containing neointima surrounded by signal-poor, lipid-rich area in the proximal SES, suggesting the progression of neoatherosclerosis within SES. Importantly, there occurred slow flow again after balloon angioplasty for this lesion. We would suggest careful OCT examination is warranted to confirm development of neoatherosclerosis within the stent, and distal protection device should be considered to prevent slow flow phenomenon even in a patient with very late ISR.

Topics: Aged; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; Cardiovascular Agents; Coronary Angiography; Coronary Circulation; Coronary Restenosis; Coronary Stenosis; Denture, Partial, Temporary; Drug-Eluting Stents; Humans; Male; No-Reflow Phenomenon; Recurrence; Retreatment; Sirolimus; Time Factors; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Treatment Outcome; Ultrasonography, Interventional