Clinical characteristics, management and 1-year outcomes of patients with acute coronary syndrome in Iran: The Iranian Project for Assessment of Coronary Events 2 (IPACE2)

Objectives: To assess contemporary data on characteristics, management and 1-year postdischarge outcomes in Iranian patients hospitalised with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Setting: 11 tertiary care hospitals in 5 major cities in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Participants: Patients aged �20 and �80 years discharged alive with confirmed diagnosis of ACS including ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-STEMI (NSTEMI) and high-risk unstable angina (HR-UA). Primary and secondary outcome measures: Patients were followed up regarding the use of medications and the end points of the study at 1 month and 1 year after discharge. The primary end point of the study was 1-year postdischarge major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), defined as mortality (cardiac and non-cardiac), ACS and cerebrovascular attack (stroke and/or transient ischaemic attack). The secondary end points were hospital admission because of congestive heart failure, revascularisation by coronary artery bypass grafting surgery or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and major and minor bleeds. Results: A total of 1799 patients (25.7 STEMI and 74.3 HR-UA/NSTEMI) discharged alive with confirmed diagnosis of ACS were included in the final analysis. During hospitalisation, the majority of the patients received aspirin (98.6), clopidogrel (91.8), anticoagulants (93.4), statins (94.3) and β-blockers (89.3). Reperfusion therapy was performed in 62.6 of patients with STEMI (46.3 thrombolytic therapy and 17.3 primary PCI). The mean door-to-balloon and door-to-needle times were 82.9 and 45.6 min, respectively. In our study, 64.7 and 79.5 of the patients in HR-UA/NSTEMI and STEMI groups, respectively, underwent coronary angiography. During the 12 months after discharge, MACCEs occurred in 15.0 of all patients. Conclusions: Our study showed that the composition of Iranian patients with ACS regarding the type of ACS is similar to that in developed European countries and is unlike that in developing countries of the Middle East and Africa. We found that our patients with ACS are treated with high levels of adherence to guideline-recommended in-hospital medications

Factors Associated with Anxiety in Premature Coronary Artery Disease Patients : THC-PAC Study

Anxiety may negatively affect the course of coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of this study was to assess which factors are associated with anxiety in young adults with CAD. A cohort of individuals with premature coronary artery disease was formed between 2004-2011, as the Tehran Heart Center's Premature Coronary Atherosclerosis Cohort (THC-PAC) study. Patients (men 6445-year-old, and women 6455-year-old) were visited between March 2013 and February 2014. All participants were examined, and their demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected. Then, all participants filled in the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Logistic regression models were used to identifying factors related to anxiety in both sexes. During the study, 708 patients (mean [SD] age: 45.3 [5.8] y, men:48.2%) were visited. Anxiety was present in 53.0% of participants (66.0% of women and 39.0% of men). The logistic regressions model showed that the associated factors for anxiety in men were opium usage (OR=1.89, 95% CI: 1.09-3.27), positive family history (OR=1.49, 95% CI:0.94-2.35), and creatinine serum level (OR=1.17, 95% CI:1.05-1.303); and in women were major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during follow-up (OR=2.30, 95% CI:1.25-4.23), hypertension (OR=1.71, 95% CI:1.07-2.73) and the duration of CAD (OR=0.99, 95% CI:0.98-1.00). In premature CAD patients, the determinants of anxiety seem to be different in each sex. Opium usage, positive family history of CAD, and creatinine serum levels in men, and MACE, hypertension, and duration of CAD in women appear the relevant factors in this regard

Clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention with drug eluting stents in diabetic patients

Background: Several randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of drug eluting stents (DES) in selected groups of patients with less complicated diabetes. We conducted this study to determine how an unselected group of diabetic patients in Iran fare following DES implantation. Methods: Data were collected on 147 consecutive diabetic patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with the implantation of at least one DES at the Tehran Heart Center from June 2003 to September 2005. Clinical follow-up was performed by timely scheduled visits at one, four and nine months following DES implantation. Nine months of follow-up was completed for 94.5% of the patients. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), which include cardiac death, myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularization (TVR). In-hospital complications were the secondary endpoint.Results: A total of 158 coronary artery lesions were treated with DES in 147 diabetic patients (mean age = 56.4±8.92 years, 57.1% were men). During the nine-month follow-up, MACE occurred in 3.4% of patients, with a myocardial infarction rate of 1.4% and TVR rate of 1.4%. Considering one patient who underwent TVR due to acute stent thrombosis following angioplasty (during hospitalization) the total number of TVR reached 3 (2%). Only one patient (0.7%) died of cardiac death, which occurred after the procedure and before discharge. In-hospital complications occurred in six patients (4.1%); five patients suffered from myocardial infarction. Conclusions: PCI with DES seems to be safe and effective in diabetic patients. However, more studies with larger study populations and longer follow-up are required to confirm this issue