Timing of coronary angiography in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome : long-term clinical outcomes from the nationwide SWEDEHEART registry

• Background: Current guidelines stress the importance of early invasive assessment of patients with non -ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS), in particular those at high risk. However, supporting scientific evidence is limited. Aims: We aimed to investigate the prognostic impact of the timing of coronary angiography in a large cohort of NSTE-ACS patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis including 34,666 NSTE-ACS patients registered from 2013 to 2018 in the SWEDEHEART registry. The prognostic implications of the timing of coronary angi-ography on a continuous scale and within <24 vs 24-72 hours were assessed using Cox regression analyses. Results: The median time interval from admission to invasive assessment was 32.8 (25th, 75th percentiles 20.4-63.8) hours. There was no apparent time window within 96 hours from admission that provided prog-nostic benefit. Coronary angiography within 24-72 hours (vs <24 hours) was not associated with worse out-come overall (all-cause mortality: hazard ratio 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.92-1.11; major adverse events: hazard ratio 1.04, 95% CI: 0.98-1.12). Interaction analyses indicated a greater relative benefit of coronary angiography <24 hours in some lower-risk groups (women, non-diabetics, patients with minor tro-ponin elevation) but neutral effects in higher-risk groups (defined by age or the GRACE 2.0 score). Conclusions: These Swedish data do not provide support for an early invasive strategy in NSTE-ACS, especially in high-risk patients. Our results suggest that the timing of invasive assessment should rather be based on individualised decisions integrating symptoms and risk panorama than on strictly defined time intervals.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Kardiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems (hsv//eng)

Keyword

ACS

NSTE-ACS

clinical research

NSTEMI

risk stratification

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)