Real-world long-term outcomes based on three therapeutic strategies in very old patients with three-vessel disease

Background There are relatively limited data regarding real-world outcomes in very old patients with three-vessel disease (3VD) receiving different therapeutic strategies. This study aimed to perform analysis of long-term clinical outcomes of medical therapy (MT), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in this population. Methods We included 711 patients aged [greater than or equai to] 75 years from a prospective cohort of patients with 3VD. Consecutive enrollment of these patients began from April 2004 to February 2011 at Fu Wai Hospital. Patients were categorized into three groups (MT, n = 296; CABG, n = 129; PCI, n = 286) on the basis of different treatment strategies. Results During a median follow-up of 7.25 years, 262 deaths and 354 major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) occurred. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that the risk of cardiac death was significantly lower for CABG compared with PCI (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.475, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.232-0.974, P = 0.042). Additionally, MACCE appeared to show a trend towards a better outcome for CABG (adjusted HR = 0.759, 95% CI 0.536-1.074, P = 0.119). Furthermore, CABG was significantly superior in terms of unplanned revascularization (adjusted HR = 0.279, 95% CI 0.079-0.982, P = 0.047) and myocardial infarction (adjusted HR = 0.196, 95% CI 0.043-0.892, P = 0.035). No significant difference in all-cause death between CABG and PCI was observed. MT had a higher risk of cardiac death than PCI (adjusted HR = 1.636, 95% CI 1.092-2.449, P = 0.017). Subgroup analysis showed that there was a significant interaction between treatment strategy (PCI vs. CABG) and sex for MACCE (P = 0.026), with a lower risk in men for CABG compared with that of PCI, but not in women. Conclusions CABG can be performed with reasonable results in very old patients with 3VD. Sex should be taken into consideration in therapeutic decision-making in this population. Keywords: Three-vessel disease, Very old patients, Medical therapy, Coronary artery bypass grafting, Percutaneous coronary intervention