Impact of sex on outcomes associated with polyvascular disease in patients after PCI

Background

Atherosclerosis in more than 1 vs. 1 arterial bed is associated with increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). This study aimed to determine whether the risk of post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) MACE associated with polyvascular disease (PVD) differs by sex.

Methods

We analyzed 18,721 patients undergoing PCI at a tertiary-care center between 2012 and 2019. Polyvascular disease was defined as history of peripheral artery and/or cerebrovascular disease. The primary endpoint was MACE, a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, or stroke at 1 year. Multivariate Cox regression was used to adjust for differences in baseline risk between patients with PVD vs. coronary artery disease (CAD) alone and interaction testing was used to assess risk modification by sex.

Results

Women represented 29.2% (N = 5,467) of the cohort and were more likely to have PVD than men (21.7% vs. 16.1%; P < .001). Among both sexes, patients with PVD were older with higher prevalence of comorbidities and cardiovascular risk factors. Women with PVD had the highest MACE rate (10.0%), followed by men with PVD (7.2%), women with CAD alone (5.0%), and men with CAD alone (3.6%). Adjusted analyses revealed similar relative MACE risk associated with PVD vs. CAD alone in women and men (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20-1.99; P < .001 and aHR 1.31, 95% CI 1.06-1.62; P = .014, respectively; p-interaction = 0.460).

Conclusion

Women and men derive similar excess risk of MACE from PVD after PCI. The heightened risk associated with PVD needs to be addressed with maximized use of secondary prevention in both sexes.