Kim MJ, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2013 Jun;28(6):848-854. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2013.28.6.848

Background: Little is known about the characteristics and long‐term clinical outcomes of patients with heart failure with improved ejection fraction (HFimpEF) after acute myocardial infarction. Methods and Results: From a multicenter, consecutive cohort of patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention, patients with an initial echocardiogram with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40% and at least 1 follow‐up echocardiogram after 14 days and within 2 years of the initial event were considered for analyses. HFimpEF was defined as an initial left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40% and serial left ventricular ejection fraction >40% with an increase of ≥10% from baseline at follow‐up. Independent factors predicting HFimpEF were identified, and clinical outcomes of patients with HFimpEF were compared with those without improvement. From an initial cohort of 10 719 patients with acute myocardial infarction, 191 patients with HFimpEF and 256 patients with non‐HFimpEF who had initial and follow‐up echocardiographic data were analyzed. The median follow‐up duration was 4.5 (interquartile range, 2.9–5.0) years. The factors predicting HFimpEF were lower peak creatine kinase myocardial band, smaller left ventricular dimensions, lower ratio between early mitral inflow velocity and mitral annular early diastolic velocity ′, and the use of β blockers or renin–angiotensin system blockers at discharge. HFimpEF was associated with a significantly decreased risk of all‐cause death compared with non‐HFimpEF (hazard ratio, 0.377 [95% CI, 0.234–0.609]; P <0.001). In 2‐year landmark analysis, these findings were consistent not only before but also after the landmark point. Similar findings were true for cardiovascular death and admission for heart failure. Conclusions: Patients with HFimpEF after acute myocardial infarction showed distinct clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and were associated with better long‐term clinical outcomes. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique Identifier: NCT02806102.

The early and late ischemic and bleeding clinical outcomes according to baseline platelet count after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remain unclear. Overall, 10,667 patients from the Cardiovascular Risk and identification of potential high-risk population in AMI (COREA-AMI) I and II registries were classified according to the following universal criteria on baseline platelet counts: (1) moderate to severe thrombocytopenia (platelet < 100 K/μL, n = 101), (2) mild thrombocytopenia (platelet = 100~149 K/μL, n = 631), (3) normal reference (platelet = 150~450 K/μL, n = 9832), and (4) thrombocytosis (platelet > 450 K/μL, n = 103). The primary endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The secondary outcome was Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) 2, 3, and 5 bleeding. After adjusting for confounders, the moderate to severe thrombocytopenia (HR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.49–2.78); p < 0.001), mild thrombocytopenia (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01–1.34; p = 0.045), and thrombocytosis groups (HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.07–2.03; p = 0.019) showed higher 5-year MACE rates than the normal reference. In BARC 2, 3, and 5 bleeding outcomes, the bleedings rates were higher than the normal range in the moderate to severe thrombocytopenia (HR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.36–3.49; p = 0.001) and mild thrombocytopenia (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.12–1.78; p = 0.004) groups. Patients with AMI had higher 5-year MACE rates after PCI if they had lower- or higher-than-normal platelet counts. Thrombocytopenia revealed higher early and late bleeding rates whereas thrombocytosis showed long-term bleeding trends, although these trends were not statistically significant.

Kim JH, et al. Korean Circ J. 2018 Aug;49:e88. https://doi.org/10.4070/kcj.2019.0074

Current treatments for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have dramatically improved clinical outcomes during the first year after AMI. Less is known, however, about the subsequent risks of recurrent cardiovascular events and mortality in patients who survive 1 year after AMI. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate long-term clinical outcomes in 1-year AMI survivors who were implanted with newer-generation drug-eluting stents (DESs) since 2010. The COREA-AMI (CardiOvascular Risk and idEntificAtion of potential high-risk population in AMI) registry consecutively enrolled AMI patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and patients who received newer-generation DESs since 2010 were analyzed. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), and secondary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Of 6242 AMI patients, 5397 were alive 1 year after the index procedure. The cumulative incidence of MACEs and all-cause death 1 to 7 years after AMI were 28.4% (annually 4–6%) and 20.2% (annually 3–4%), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that uncontrolled systolic blood pressure (SBP) and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration, as well as traditional risk factors, were associated with MACEs and all-cause death. Recurrent non-fatal myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and bleeding events within 1 year were significantly associated with all-cause death. The risks of adverse cardiovascular events and death remain high in AMI patients more than 1 year after the index PCI with newer-generation DESs. Traditional risk factors, uncontrolled SBP and LDL-C, and non-fatal adverse events within 1 year after the index procedure strongly influence long-term clinical outcomes.

Limited data exist on the temporal trend of major bleeding and its prediction by the Academic Research Consortium-High Bleeding Risk (ARC-HBR) criteria in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We investigated 10-year trends of major bleeding and predictive ability of the ARC-HBR criteria in AMI patients. In a multicenter registry of 10,291 AMI patients undergoing PCI between 2004 and 2014 the incidence of Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) 3 and 5 bleeding was assessed, and, outcomes in ARC-defined HBR patients with AMI were compared with those in non-HBR. The primary outcome was BARC 3 and 5 bleeding at 1 year. Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality and composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or ischemic stroke. The annual incidence of BARC 3 and 5 bleeding in the AMI population has increased over the years (1.8% to 5.8%; p < 0.001). At 1 year, ARC-defined HBR (n = 3371, 32.8%) had significantly higher incidence of BARC 3 and 5 bleeding (9.8% vs. 2.9%; p < 0.001), all-cause mortality (22.8% vs. 4.3%; p < 0.001) and composite of ischemic events (22.6% vs. 5.8%; p < 0.001) compared to non-HBR. During the past decade, the incidence of major bleeding in the AMI population has increased. The ARC-HBR criteria provided reliable predictions for major bleeding, mortality, and ischemic events in AMI patients.