Long-Term Effect of Perindopril on Coronary Atherosclerosis Progression (from the PERindopril’s Prospective Effect on Coronary aTherosclerosis by Angiography and IntraVascular Ultrasound Evaluation [PERSPECTIVE] Study)

The multicenter EUROPA trial of 12,218 patients showed that perindopril decreased adverse clinical events in patients with established coronary heart disease. The PERSPECTIVE study, a substudy of the EUROPA trial, evaluated the effect of perindopril on coronary plaque progression as assessed by quantitative coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). In total 244 patients (mean age 57 years, 81% men) were included. Evaluable paired quantitative coronary angiograms were obtained from 96 patients randomized to perindopril and from 98 patients to placebo. Concomitant treatment at baseline consisted of aspirin (90%), lipid-lowering agents (70%), and β blockers (60%). The primary and secondary end point was the difference of minimum and mean lumen diameters (quantitative coronary angiography) or mean plaque cross-sectional area (IVUS) measured at baseline and 3-year follow-up between the perindopril and placebo groups. After a median follow-up of 3.0 years (range 1.9 to 4.1), no differences in change in quantitative coronary angiographic or IVUS measurements were detected between the perindopril and placebo groups (minimum and mean luminal diameters −0.07 ± 0.4 vs −0.02 ± 0.4 mm, p = 0.34; mean luminal diameter −0.05 ± 0.2 vs −0.05 ± 0.3 mm, p = 0.89; mean plaque cross-sectional area −0.18 ± 1.2 vs −0.02 ± 1.2 mm2, p = 0.48). In conclusion, we found no progression in coronary artery disease by quantitative coronary angiography and IVUS with long-term administration of perindopril or placebo, possibly because most patients were on concomitant treatment with a statin.