Impact of ischemic risk factors on long-term outcomes in patients with and without high bleeding risk

Background The current guidelines have recommended to shorten the dual antiplatelet therapy duration in patients at high bleeding risk (HBR) to minimize the bleeding complications. The impact of ischemic risk factors (IRF) on long-term ischemic events in patients with and without HBR after percutaneous coronary intervention remains unclear. Methods The study population comprised 1219 patients who were treated with everolimus-eluting stents between 2010 and 2011. The mean follow-up period was 2996 ± 433 days. HBR was defined as set by the Academic Research Consortium. IRF was defined as high-risk features of stent-driven recurrent ischemic events endorsed in the 2017 European Society of Cardiology Guidelines. Major bleeding was defined as the occurrence of Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding. Primary ischemic events included myocardial infarction, definite stent thrombosis, and cardiac death. Results The 1219 patients were divided into two groups: 614 patients at HBR (HBR group) and 605 patients at no HBR (non-HBR group). The rate of IRF patients was significantly higher in the HBR group than in the non-HBR group (81.4% versus 47.6%, P < 0.001). The cumulative rate of ischemic events in the HBR group was significantly higher in IRF patients than in non-IRF patients (21.0% versus 7.0%, log rank P < 0.001), whereas that in the non-HBR group was not significantly different between IRF and non-IRF patients (10.1% versus 6.3%, log rank P = 0.09). Conclusions More than 80% of HBR patients treated with everolimus-eluting stents were at IRF. A combination of HBR and IRF may increase the risk of long-term ischemic events.