FREQUENCY OF ANGIOGRAPHIC RESTENOSIS AT 6 MONTHS AND LONG-TERM OUTCOME AFTER CORONARY ANGIOPLASTY

Five hundred patients with a mean age of 59 years were followed up for an average of 32 months after coronary angioplasty. All patients were included in a prospective study comprising coronary angiography at 6 months for 379 patients (91 % primary successes). The long-term outcom e was evaluated by a questionnaire or telephone interview in all cases . The global primary success rate was 84.4 % in this series. The prima ry failures include 1.8 fatalities, 0.6 % myocardial infarction, 2 % e mergency coronary bypass surgery and 11.2 % without immediate clinical consequences. At 6 months, there were 48 % of restenoses (182/379 pat ients) and 28 % underwent immediate repeat angioplasty (141/500 patien ts) with a primary success rate of 91 %. After the repeat angioplasty, the restenosis rate was 43 % but this varied according to the time fr om the first restenosis: 60 % when the interval was short (under 2 mon ths) compared with 21 % when the interval was 6 months (p < 0.01). The actuarial survival rates at 4 years were 95 % after successful angiop lasty 96 % after uncomplicated failures or medically treated restenosi s and 98 % after bypass surgery. The predictive factors for secondary death were age of over 70 years, previous non-thrombolysed myocardial infarction and complications of angioplasty. The long-term outcome was good despite the 48 % 6 months restenosis rate requiring revascularis ation procedure in 73 % of cases.