Coronary collateral circulation: Effects on outcomes of acute anterior myocardial infarction after primary percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND: To investigate the effects of collateral coronary circulation on the outcome of the patients with anterior myocardial infarction (MI) with left anterior desending artery occlusion abruptly. METHODS: Data of 189 patients with acute anterior MI who had a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the first 12 h from the onset of symptoms between January 2004 and December 2008 were retrospective analyzed. Left anterior descending arteries (LAD) of all patients were occluded. LADs were reopened with primary PCI. According to the collateral circulation, all patients were classified to two groups: no collateral group (n = 111), patients without angiographic collateral filling of LAD or side branches (collateral index 0) and collateral group (n = 78), and patients with angiographic collateral filling of LAD or side branches (collateral index 1, 2 or 3). At one year's follow-up, the occurrence of death, reinfarction, stent thrombosis (ST), target vessel revascularization and readmission because of heart failure were observed. RESULTS: At one year, the mortality was lower in patients with collateral circulation compared with those without collateral circulation (1% vs. 8%, P = 0.049), whereas there were no differences in the occurrence of reinfarction, ST, target vessel revascularization and readmission because of heart failure. The occurrence of composite of endpoint was lower in patients with collateral circulation compared with those without collateral circulation (12% vs. 26%; P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: Pre-exist collateral circulation may prefigure the satisfactory prognosis to the patients with acute anterior MI after primary PCI in the first 12 h of MI onset.