Background: Patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome complicated by congestive heart failure (CHF) have a poor prognosis. The aims of this study were to describe the use of revascularization in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome and CHF and to analyze its impact on survival.
Methods and results: In the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events, 29 844 patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome were enrolled at 120 hospitals in 14 countries between April 1999 and June 2007; 4953 had CHF at presentation. One fifth of the patients with CHF underwent revascularization versus 35% of those without CHF (P<0.001). Among CHF patients, revascularized patients had lower-risk baseline clinical characteristics than nonrevascularized patients and were more likely to receive evidence-based cardiac medications. Hospital rates were not affected by revascularization (adjusted hazard ratio 0.97, 95% confidence interval 0.72 to 1.33, P=0.87). Death from discharge to 6-month follow-up was lower in patients who underwent revascularization than in those who did not (odds ratio 0.51, 95% confidence interval 0.35 to 0.74, P<0.001). This difference persisted after adjustment for GRACE risk score variables, country, and propensity for revascularization (odds ratio 0.58, 95% confidence interval 0.40 to 0.85, P=0.005). When revascularization as a time-varying covariate was taken into account in an adjusted Cox regression, the rate of death was again lower in patients undergoing revascularization (hazard ratio 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.45 to 0.93, P=0.02).
Conclusions: This observational study suggests a low use of in-hospital revascularization in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome patients with CHF. The consistent reduction in postdischarge death in revascularized patients suggests that broader application of revascularization in this high-risk group may be beneficial.