Sex-Specific Clinical Outcomes After Treatment of Left Main Coronary Artery Disease. A NOBLE Substudy

While female sex has been associated with worse outcomes following coronary revascularization, previous analyses in left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease have been conflicting. In addition, a signal that increased mortality may be specific to women treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) requires further investigation.

Nordic-Baltic-British left main revascularization study (NOBLE) was a randomized trial comparing PCI to coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) in patients with LMCA disease. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause mortality, nonprocedural myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization, and stroke (major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events [MACCE]). We report the 5-year sex-specific outcomes.

Of 1184 patients analyzed, 256 (22%) were female and 928 (78%) were male. There were no significant within-sex differences in baseline characteristics, disease location, or complexity between those treated with PCI and those with CABG. The 5-year MACCE rates were 29% and 15% in females and 28% and 20% in males treated with PCI and CABG, respectively. Within both sexes, there was an increased risk of MACCE with PCI compared with CABG, but no difference in all-cause mortality. On multivariate analysis, female sex was not an independent predictor of MACCE.

Following the treatment of LMCA disease, long-term outcomes favored CABG over PCI in both sexes. Importantly, there was no difference in all-cause mortality in females or males at 5 ​years.