Background: The role of incomplete revascularization (ICR) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is controversial. We evaluated the impact of ICR on short- and long-term outcome in patients with AMI and multivessel disease (MVD) treated with percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) during index hospital stay.
Methods: Single-center observational study covered 798 patients with MVD selected from 1486 consecutive patients with AMI treated with PCI. At discharge, 605 (75.8%) of the patients still had at least 1 diseased artery (ICR group); in 193, complete revascularization (CR) has been achieved (CR group). Any-cause mortality rate and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during hospitalization, within a follow-up period of 30 days and 29.7 months, were compared between both groups in the whole population and within the high-risk subgroups. Propensity model to predict the probability of CR according to 16 variables was used.
Results: Mortality and MACE rates were significantly higher in ICR group than among completely revascularized subjects during short- and long-term observation (remote mortality 18.5% vs 7.2%, MACE 53.1% vs 24.3%, both P < .001). Higher mortality rate was also observed within the subgroups with diabetes (25.2% vs 4.8%), renal dysfunction (44.1% vs 13.8%), and lowered ejection fraction (26.5% vs 10.5%, all P < .05). Propensity-adjusted multivariate analysis showed that ICR was a significant and strong predictor of remote death (propensity-adjusted hazard ratio 2.01, 95% CI 1.71-2.31, P = .02) and MACE (hazard ratio 2.08, 95% CI 1.90-2.26, P < .001).
Conclusions: Incomplete revascularization is a strong and independent risk factor of death and MACE in patients with AMI treated with PCI.