The benefit of complete revascularization in older patients (≥75 years of age) with myocardial infarction and multivessel disease remains unclear. In this multicenter, randomized trial, we assigned older patients with myocardial infarction and multivessel disease who were undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the culprit lesion to receive either physiology-guided complete revascularization of nonculprit lesions or to receive no further revascularization. Functionally significant nonculprit lesions were identified either by pressure wire or angiography. The primary outcome was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or any revascularization at 1 year. The key secondary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction. Safety was assessed as a composite of contrast-associated acute kidney injury, stroke, or bleeding. A total of 1445 patients underwent randomization (720 to receive complete revascularization and 725 to receive culprit-only revascularization). The median age of the patients was 80 years (interquartile range, 77 to 84); 528 patients (36.5%) were women, and 509 (35.2%) were admitted for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. A primary-outcome event occurred in 113 patients (15.7%) in the complete-revascularization group and in 152 patients (21.0%) in the culprit-only group (hazard ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57 to 0.93; P = 0.01). Cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction occurred in 64 patients (8.9%) in the complete-revascularization group and in 98 patients (13.5%) in the culprit-only group (hazard ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.88). The safety outcome did not appear to differ between the groups (22.5% vs. 20.4%; P = 0.37). Among patients who were 75 years of age or older with myocardial infarction and multivessel disease, those who underwent physiology-guided complete revascularization had a lower risk of a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or ischemia-driven revascularization at 1 year than those who received culprit-lesion-only PCI. (Funded by Consorzio Futuro in Ricerca and others; FIRE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03772743.).

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a systemic disease characterized by a disproportionate inflammatory response in the acute phase. This study sought to identify clinical sequelae and their potential mechanism. Methods: We conducted a prospective single-center study (NCT04689490) of previously hospitalized COVID-19 patients with and without dyspnea during mid-term follow-up. An outpatient group was also evaluated. They underwent serial testing with a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), transthoracic echocardiogram, pulmonary lung test, six-minute walking test, serum biomarker analysis, and quality of life questionaries. Results: Patients with dyspnea (n = 41, 58.6%), compared with asymptomatic patients (n = 29, 41.4%), had a higher proportion of females (73.2 vs. 51.7%; p = 0.065) with comparable age and prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. There were no significant differences in the transthoracic echocardiogram and pulmonary function test. Patients who complained of persistent dyspnea had a significant decline in predicted peak VO₂ consumption (77.8 (64–92.5) vs. 99 (88–105); p < 0.00; p < 0.001), total distance in the six-minute walking test (535 (467–600) vs. 611 (550–650) meters; p = 0.001), and quality of life (KCCQ-23 60.1 ± 18.6 vs. 82.8 ± 11.3; p < 0.001). Additionally, abnormalities in CPET were suggestive of an impaired ventilatory efficiency (VE/VC_O2 slope 32 (28.1–37.4) vs. 29.4 (26.9–31.4); p = 0.022) and high PET_CO2 (34.5 (32–39) vs. 38 (36–40); p = 0.025). Interpretation: In this study, >50% of COVID-19 survivors present a symptomatic functional impairment irrespective of age or prior hospitalization. Our findings suggest a potential ventilation/perfusion mismatch or hyperventilation syndrome.

Coronary calcification negatively affects the safety and effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention. There is a lack of randomized comparisons among different plaque modification techniques. The aim of this study was to compare rotational atherectomy (RA), excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA), and intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) for the treatment of patients with calcified coronary stenosis. Patients with moderate to severe calcified coronary lesions were randomly assigned to percutaneous coronary intervention with RA, IVL, or ELCA. The primary endpoint was the percentage of stent expansion by optical coherence tomography. An intention-to-treat, noninferiority analysis was conducted. A total of 171 patients (77.2% men [n = 132], mean age 70.9 ± 8.2 years) were enrolled, 57 in each treatment arm. Clinical presentation was chronic coronary syndrome in 64.3% of patients (n = 110) and acute coronary syndrome in 35.7% (n = 61). Severe angiographic calcification was observed in 82.5% of lesions (n = 141). Procedural success rate and final minimum stent area (RA, 5.5 ± 2.1 mm²; IVL, 5.4 ± 1.8 mm²; ELCA, 5.1 ± 1.8 mm²) were similar among the 3 arms. IVL proved to be noninferior to RA, with no differences in stent expansion (RA, 86.4% ± 14.1%; IVL, 85.6% ± 13.3%; P = 0.77). ELCA did not reach noninferiority in the intention-to-treat analysis. The rate of complications was low, with no significant differences in the 3 arms but numerically lower with IVL. In the first randomized trial comparing RA, IVL, and ELCA for the treatment of patients with calcified coronary lesions, IVL was noninferior to RA in terms of stent expansion. ELCA did not reach this noninferiority margin compared with RA. No significant differences were observed among the 3 arms regarding minimum stent area, procedural success rate, and complications, which were numerically lower with IVL.