Bhatt, D.L.

Effects of adherence to guidelines for the control of major cardiovascular risk factors on outcomes in the REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry Europe (Article)

2011-04-01T00:00:00Z

Objectives: To examine the impact of cardiovascular risk factor control on 3-year cardiovascular event rates in patients with stable symptomatic atherothrombotic disease in Europe. Methods: The REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry recruited patients aged ≥45 years with established atherothrombotic disease or three or more risk factors, of whom 20 588 symptomatic patients from 18 European countries were analysed in this study at baseline and 12, 24 and 36 months. 'Good control' of cardiovascular risk factors was defined as three to five risk factors at target values of international guideline recommendations (systolic blood pressure <140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg, fasting glycaemia <110 mg/dl, total cholesterol <200 mg/dl, non-smoking). Independent predictors of 'good control' of major risk factors were assessed by multivariate analysis. Results: Among symptomatic patients in the REACH Registry Europe (mean age 67 years, 70.6% male), 59.4% had good control of risk factors at baseline. Good risk factor control was associated with lower cardiovascular death/non-fatal stroke/non-fatal myocardial infarction (OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.69 to 0.83) and mortality (OR 0.89; 95% CI 0.79 to 0.99) at 36 months, compared with poor control. Independent predictors of good control of risk factors included residence in western versus eastern Europe (OR 1.29), high level of education (OR 1.16), established coronary artery disease (OR 1.18), treatment with one or more antithrombotic (OR 1.59) and one or more lipid-lowering agent (OR 1.16). Conclusions: In REACH, less than 60% of patients with stable atherothrombotic disease had good control of the five major cardiovascular risk factors. Improved risk factor control is associated with a positive impact on 3-year cardiovascular event rates and mortality.

Influence of polyvascular disease on cardiovascular event rates. Insights from the REACH registry (Article)

2010-08-01T00:00:00Z

Cardiovascular event rates have been shown to increase substantially with the number of symptomatic disease locations. We sought to assess the risk profile, management and subsequent event rates of polyvascular disease patients. Consecutive outpatients were assessed for atherosclerotic risk factors and medications in the REACH Registry. A total of 19,117 symptomatic patients in Europe completed a 2-year follow-up: 77.2% with single arterial bed disease (coronary artery or cerebrovascular or peripheral arterial disease) and 22.8% with polyvascular disease (≥ 1 disease location). Polyvascular disease patients were older (68.5 ± 9.4 vs 66.3 ± 9.9 years, p < 0.0001), more often current or former smokers (64.9% vs 58.7%, p < 0.0001), and more often suffered from hypertension (59.5% vs 46.6%, p < 0.0001) and diabetes (34.5% vs 25.9%, p < 0.0001) than single arterial bed disease patients. Despite more intense medical therapy, risk factors (smoking, hypertension, low fasting glucose, and low fasting total cholesterol) were less often controlled in polyvascular disease patients. This was associated with substantially more events over 2 years compared with single arterial bed disease patients (cMACCE [cardiovascular death/non-fatal stroke/non-fatal MI] odds ratio, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.45-1.83], p < 0.0001). In conclusion, polyvascular disease patients have more cardiovascular risk factors, and the prognosis for these patients is significantly worse than for patients with single arterial bed disease. This suggests a need to improve detection and consequent medical treatment of polyvascular disease.

Prognosis of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Symptomatic Peripheral Arterial Disease: Data from the REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry (Article)

2010-07-01T00:00:00Z

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) mortality. This study aims to evaluate the prognostic implication of AF in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Methods: The International Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry included 23,542 outpatients in Europe with established coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease (CVD), PAD and/or ≥3 risk factors. Of these, 3753 patients had symptomatic PAD. CV risk factors were determined at baseline. Study end point was a combination of cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke (CV events) during 2 years of follow-up. Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, gender and other risk factors (i.e., congestive heart failure, coronary artery re-vascularisation, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), MI, hypertension, stroke, current smoking and diabetes) was used. Results: Of 3753 PAD patients, 392 (10%) were known to have AF. Patients with AF were older and had a higher prevalence of CVD, diabetes and hypertension. Long-term CV mortality occurred in 5.6% of patients with AF and in 1.6% of those without AF (p<0.001). Multivariable analyses showed that AF was an independent predictor of late CV events (hazard ratio (HR): 1.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09-2.0). Conclusion: AF is common in European patients with symptomatic PAD and is independently associated with a worse 2-year CV outcome.

Cardiovascular risk profile and outcome of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm in out-patients with atherothrombosis: Data from the Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry (Article)

2008-10-01T00:00:00Z

Objective: Datasets regarding patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) have almost universally been restricted to single geographic regions. We aimed to obtain data on the risk factor profile and cardiovascular (CV) co-morbidity among multi-ethnic patients with known AAA in the global REACH (REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health) Registry. Methods: The REACH Registry is an international, prospective, observational out-patient registry enrolling out-patients ≥45 years of age with established coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD) or peripheral arterial disease (PAD) or with at least three atherothrombotic risk factors. This report includes observations pertaining to 68,236 out-patients enrolled in 44 countries. Main outcome measures: Gender, ethnic origin, CV risk factors, established atherosclerotic disease (CAD, CVD and PAD) at baseline, and CV outcome events at 1-year were compared in patients with and without AAA. Results: An AAA was reported in 1722 (2.5%) of 68,236 out-patients enrolled in the REACH Registry. Older age (73 ± 8 vs 68 ± 10, P < .0001), male gender (81% vs 63%, P < .0001), White ethnicity (79% vs 67%, P < .0001) and a history of smoking (81% vs 55%, P < .0001) were independently related to the diagnosis of AAA. There was a weaker association with hypertension or hypercholesterolemia, and an inverse relation with diabetes. Fatal and non-fatal coronary and cerebrovascular event rates were not different between the AAA and non-AAA cohorts, but individuals with AAA suffered increased rates of other cardiovascular deaths (1.39% vs 0.94%, P = .0135), hospitalizations for atherothrombotic events (14.1% vs 9.3%, P < .0001) due to increased rates of revascularization procedures, and new or worsening PAD (3.7% vs 1.3%, P < .0001) at 1-year follow-up. Conclusion: This study, the largest published to date, presents the CV risk profile and outcome of patients with an established diagnosis of AAA from a cohort of patients with either overt manifestations of CV disease or multiple risk factors, and further defines these patients in a multi-ethnic, global context.

Attenuation of rebound ischemia after discontinuation of heparin therapy by glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition with eptifibatide in patients with acute coronary syndromes (Article)

2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

Background- A reactivation of ischemia after the discontinuation of intravenous heparin in acute coronary syndromes has been described. The effect of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa blockade on heparin rebound is unknown. Methods and Results- Patients with acute coronary syndromes who received heparin therapy but not initial revascularization in the Platelet IIb/IIIa in Unstable angina: Receptor Suppression Using Integrilin Therapy (PURSUIT) trial were analyzed. Rates of death or myocardial (re)infarction while on heparin therapy and in 12-hour periods in the 2 days after heparin discontinuation were compared between eptifibatide and placebo. There was no difference between study groups in event rates during heparin infusion. In the 12 hours after heparin discontinuation, there was a 2.5-fold increase in all events, an 8-fold increase in death, and a 2-fold increase in myocardial infarction. However, in the 12 hours after heparin discontinuation, there was a significantly lower rate of events (1.68% versus 2.53%, P=0.03) and death (0.77% versus 0.21%, P=0.002) in the eptifibatide group compared with the placebo group. When only considering patients who were on study drug at the time of heparin discontinuation, the reduction in the combined end point was marginally significant, but the difference in the rate of death remained significant (0.68% versus 0.06%, P=0.004). In logistic regression analyses, the multivariate predictors of rebound events were the duration of heparin therapy, age, North American site, and lack of eptifibatide treatment. Conclusions- An increase in death or myocardial infarction occurs in the 12 hours after heparin discontinuation in patients with acute coronary syndromes. This rebound is attenuated by glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition with eptifibatide.

Clinical and therapeutic profile of patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes who do not have significant coronary artery disease.The Platelet Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa in Unstable Angina: Receptor Suppression Using Integrilin Therapy (PURSUIT) Trial Investigators (Article)

2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

BACKGROUND: A proportion of patients who present with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are found to have insignificant coronary artery disease (CAD) during coronary angiography, but these patients have not been well characterized. METHODS AND RESULTS: Of the 5767 patients with non-ST-segment elevation ACS who were enrolled in the Platelet Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa in Unstable Angina: Receptor Suppression Using Integrilin (Eptifibatide) Therapy (PURSUIT) trial and who underwent in-hospital angiography, 88% had significant CAD (any stenosis >50%), 6% had mild CAD (any stenosis >0% to