Optimal treatment of multivessel complex coronary artery disease

The aim of the present study was to investigate major cardiac events and the similarities and differences of medical costs among patients with multivessel complex coronary artery disease (MCCAD) during the three-year follow-up. The MCCAD patients had undergone single complete revascularization (CR), fractionated revascularization (FR) or partial revascularization (PR) and the present study aimed to screen the optimal treatment program. A total of 2,309 MCCAD patients who had been treated at a single center in the last decade, among which 1,020 cases underwent single CR, 856 cases successively underwent FR and 433 cases only underwent PR, were followed-up for three years. Major cardiac events, including all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, severe heart failure, rehospitalization and revascularization (coronary artery bypass grafting and coronary stent reimplantation), were set as the end points. In addition, the three-year medical costs associated with heart disease were analyzed. The three-year cardiac event rate in the CR group (17%) was significantly lower compared with the other two groups and the average three-year medical costs in the CR group (62,100 RMB) were significantly lower than those in the other two groups. Therefore, under permissive conditions, single CR is the optimal and most economical treatment strategy for patients with MCCAD.