Interaction Between Treatment and Age or Sex in Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Disease and Three-Vessel Disease

AIMS: To explore the effects of age and sex on the outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients with the three-vessel disease (TVD). METHODS AND RESULTS: The study is a subanalysis of data from a prospective cohort of 8,943 patients with angiographically confirmed TVD at Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China. The primary end point was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. In total, 2,819 patients with NSTE-ACS who received CABG (43.6%) or PCI (56.4%) were included, among whom 32.7% were of 65–74 years, 7.2% were ≥75 years, and 22.6% were women. The median follow-up duration was 6.8 years. The superiority of CABG relative to PCI in terms of MACCE was decreased with age (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval (CI)]: <65 years: 0.662 [0.495–0.885], p = 0.005; 65–74 years: 0.700 [0.512–0.956], p = 0.025; ≥75 years: 0.884 [0.529–1.479], p = 0.640) and was only seen in men (adjusted HR [95% CI]: men: 0.668 [0.526–0.848], p = 0.001; women: 0.713 [0.505–1.006], p = 0.054). Significant treatment-by-sex and treatment-by-age interactions were observed in patients ≥ 75 years and women, respectively, (p(interaction with sex) = 0.001; p(interaction with age) = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Coronary artery bypass grafting is favorable for most NSTE-ACS patients with TVD. The preponderance of CABG over PCI disappeared in patients ≥ 75 years and women. PCI is superior in women ≥ 75 years.