IMR Press / RCM / Volume 23 / Issue 10 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2310344
Open Access Systematic Review
Unsolved Questions in the Revascularization of Older Myocardial Infarction Patients with Multivessel Disease
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1 UO Cardiologia, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Ferrara, 44124 Ferrara, Italy
*Correspondence: cmpglc@unife.it (Gianluca Campo)
Academic Editor: Jerome L. Fleg
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2022, 23(10), 344; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2310344
Submitted: 29 April 2022 | Revised: 5 July 2022 | Accepted: 22 July 2022 | Published: 14 October 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Myocardial infarction: unsolved issues and future options)
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: In cardiology, the global phenomenon of population ageing poses new major challenges, ranging from more comorbid and frail patients to the presence of complex, calcified and multiple coronary lesions. Considering that elderly patients are under-represented in randomized clinical trials (RCT), the aim of this systematic review is to summarize the current knowledge on the revascularization of the elderly patient with myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary artery disease. Methods: A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines has been performed. The search was conducted on Pubmed (Medline), Cochrane library, Google Scholar and Biomed Central databases between January and February 2022. We selected the articles focusing on patients hospitalized for myocardial infarction (MI) with multivessel disease and aged 75 years or older. A total of 36 studies have been included. Results: Multivessel coronary artery disease is present in around 50–60% of older patients with MI. The in-hospital mortality rate of patients older than 75 years is double compared to their younger counterpart, and the most prevalent complications after revascularization are bleeding and renal failure. In the treatment of patients with ST elevation MI (STEMI), primary percutaneous coronary intervention should be the first choice over fibrinolysis. However, it is not clear whether this population would benefit from complete revascularization or not. In patients with non-ST elevation MI (NSTEMI), an invasive approach with either percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass graft may be chosen, but a conservative strategy is also accepted. There are no data from large trials about the comparison of possible revascularization strategies in NSTEMI patients. Conclusions: This systematic review shows that this field of research lacks randomized clinical trials to guide revascularization strategy in older STEMI or NSTEMI patients with MI. New results are expected from ongoing trials.

Keywords
coronary artery disease
multivessel CAD
myocardial infarction
elderly
older
Funding
GR-2018-12367114/Italian Health Ministry- Ricerca Finalizzata 2018
Figures
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