Impact of Bivalirudin and Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents on Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of the Left Anterior Descending Artery

Patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) are at increased risk for cardiovascular events compared with patients undergoing non-LAD PCI. We assessed the impact of bivalirudin and paclitaxel-eluting stenting (PES) in patients with STEMI who underwent LAD PCI. In the HORIZONS-AMI trial, 1,445 patients had LAD PCI and 1,884 patients had non-LAD PCI. The 3-year composite rates of death, reinfarction, stroke, or ischemia-driven target vessel revascularization were significantly higher in patients who underwent LAD PCI compared with non-LAD PCI (24.0% vs 20.6%, hazard ratio [HR] 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04 to 1.39, p = 0.013), driven by a statistically significant increase in cardiac death (5.4% vs 2.7%, HR 2.00, 95% CI 1.40 to 2.86, p = 0.001). For patients who underwent LAD PCI, treatment with bivalirudin resulted in significantly lower rates of cardiac death (3.8% vs 6.8%, HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.89, p = 0.01), reinfarction (5.3% vs 9.5%, HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.83, p = 0.004), and major bleeding events (7.3% vs 11.8%, HR 0.60, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.86, p = 0.004) compared with unfractionated heparin plus glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor. Randomization to PES compared with bare-metal stenting resulted in a significant lower rate of target vessel revascularization (13.2% vs 19.8%, HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.86, p = 0.003) with no significant differences in stent thrombosis, reinfarction, or death. In conclusion, in patients with STEMI who underwent primary PCI of LAD, the use of bivalirudin was associated with a reduction in mortality and bleeding rates at 3 years. PES reduced revascularization rates in this population but did not have a significant impact on mortality.