Evaluation of management strategies in patients with coronary ectasia: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background/Introduction Since patients with coronary ectasia have an increased risk of developing myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death, these patients could benefit from a more intensive treatment. Unfortunately, the evidence regarding outcomes with different management strategies is limited, especially with direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC). Purpose To compare clinical outcomes in patients with coronary ectasia based on the selected/chosen treatment strategy. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study in patients diagnosed with coronary artery ectasia. They were divided into 3 different groups based on the treatment they received at discharge and we evaluated the main cardiovascular outcomes at one-year follow-up. Results Between 2016 and 2019, 7,579 angiographies were performed, in which 510 patients with coronary ectasia were found (prevalence of 6.72%). Of these patients, 43.9% (n=224) had the diagnosis of STEMI, 21% NSTEMI (n=107), 5.1% unstable angina (n=26), 18.6% chronic stable angina (n=95) and other 11.4% (n=58). The angiographic distribution of the lesions was as follows: left main coronary artery 25.1%, Left descending coronary artery 62.7%, circumflex artery 52.1%, right coronary artery 79.2%. It was possible to obtain the follow-up of 363 patients (71.2%) because 25 died during their hospitalization and data of 122 were not available at the time of analysis. Three groups were formed based on the treatment: (1) Dual Antiplatelet Therapy (DAPT) in 47% (n=174); (2) DAPT + Vitamin K Antagonist (VKA) in 8.5% (n=31); (3) DAPT + DOAC in 6.6% (n=24). The overall MACE rate at 1-year of follow-up was 6.6% (n=15): 11 patients in the DAPT group (6.3%), 1 patient in the DAPT + VKA group (3.2%), and 3 patients in the DAPT + DOAC group (12.5%). During this period, 3 patients died from cardiovascular causes, all of them in the DAPT group. Myocardial infarction occurred in 12 patients, 8 in the DAPT group (4.2%), 1 in the DAPT + VKA group (3.2%) and 3 in the DAPT + DOAC group (12.5%). Stroke occurred in 2 patients: 1 patient in the DAPT group (0.5%) and 1 patient in the DAPT + DOAC group, 4.1% None of these findings were statistically significant. One-year occurrence of bleeding events was also evaluated: 23 patients presented a bleeding event, 14 in the DAPT group (8%), 7 in the DAPT + VKA group (22.5%) and 2 in the DAPT + DOAC group (8.3%); p=0.010. Conclusion(s) Our findings suggest that there is no statistically significant diffe