The benefits of complete revascularisation confirmed in older patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction

Key take-aways 

• In a large meta-analysis, complete revascularisation reduced cardiovascular events compared with culprit-only revascularisation in older patients with a myocardial infarction and multivessel disease at 4 years. 
• The safety profile was similar in both groups. 
• More follow-up data are needed to investigate the long-term benefits of complete revascularisation after 4 years.  

London, United Kingdom – 1 September 2024: The benefits of complete revascularisation over culprit-only coronary artery revascularisation were confirmed in older patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel disease over the first 4 years, according to late-breaking research presented in a Hot Line session today at ESC Congress 2024.¹  

“Treating culprit and non-culprit lesions with complete revascularisation is the standard treatment for patients with STEMI and multivessel disease. However, this strategy is currently underused in older patients and the benefits of complete revascularisation compared with culprit-lesion only revascularisation remain a topic for debate. We performed the EARTH-STEMI meta-analysis of data from patients aged 75 years or older included in several different trials and were able to confirm the benefits of complete revascularisation in the first 4 years after the event,” explained study presenter, Professor Gianluca Campo from the University Hospital of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy. 

Recent trials, such as the COMPLETE trial² demonstrated the superiority of complete revascularisation in patients with STEMI and multivessel disease. The FIRE trial then confirmed the benefits in older patients at 1 year but included patients with either STEMI or non-STEMI.³ The individual patient-level EARTH-STEMI meta-analysis combined data on outcomes from older patients with STEMI from several trials to expand the knowledge base in a larger group of older patients with longer follow-up. 

In the meta-analysis, databases were systematically searched to identify randomised clinical trials comparing complete vs. culprit-only revascularisation in patients with MI and multivessel disease. Individual patient-level data were collected from the selected trials for patients aged 75 years or older with STEMI. The primary endpoint was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, and ischaemia-driven revascularisation. The key secondary endpoint was cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction.  

In total, seven trials were identified: COMPLETE,² FIRE,³ FULL REVASC,⁴ DANAMI-3–PRIMULTI,⁵ COMPARE ACUTE,⁶ Hamza et al.,⁷ and CvLPRIT.⁸ Around one-fifth (19%) of the patients included in these trials were aged 75 years or older. 

Of the 1,733 patients aged 75 years or older included in the meta-analysis, 816 received complete revascularisation and 917 received culprit-only revascularisation. The median age was 79 years old and 15% were aged more than 85 years. Around one-third were female (34%). Follow-up ranged from 6 months to 6.2 years (median 2.5 years), with 20% of patients having follow-up data at 4 years. 

Complete revascularisation was associated with a significant reduction in the primary endpoint compared with culprit-only revascularisation at 4 years (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63–0.96; p=0.005). At the longest follow-up, the difference between the groups was not significant (aHR 0.83; 95% CI 0.69–1.01; p=0.063). 

At the longest follow-up, there was a 24% reduction in cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction with complete vs. culprit-only revascularisation (aHR 0.76; 95% CI 0.58–0.99; p=0.046). There was no difference between the two groups for all-cause mortality (aHR 1.03; 95% CI 0.80–1.32; p=0.818), cardiovascular death (aHR 0.79; 95% CI 0.56–1.02; p=0.184), or non-cardiovascular death (aHR 1.40; 95% CI 0.97–2.02; p=0.115). Ischaemia-driven revascularisation was significantly reduced in the complete vs. culprit-only group (HR 0.52; 95% CI 0.34–0.85; p=0.002). There were no significant differences between the groups in the safety endpoints of stroke, stent thrombosis, major bleeding, or contrast-associated acute kidney injury. 

“At least in the first 4 years, complete revascularisation improved outcomes in older patients with STEMI and multivessel disease. A limitation is the lack of patients followed up beyond 4 years and we await additional data from the FIRE trial to provide further information on longer-term outcomes,” concluded Professor Campo. 

ENDS