Effect of peripheral arterial disease on in-hospital outcomes after primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction.

The presence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in patients with stable coronary artery disease is associated with an increased long-term risk of death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. However, the effect of PAD on short-term outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction is less well understood. A total of 9,015 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction from the New York State Coronary Angioplasty Reporting System database, all of whom had undergone primary percutaneous coronary intervention in 1998 and 1999, were analyzed. The diagnosis of PAD was determined by a history of aortoiliac, femoral-popliteal, or carotid disease. A logistic regression model was used to determine the relation between PAD and in-hospital death and major adverse cardiovascular events, which included a composite of death, recurrent myocardial infarction, stroke, acute vessel occlusion, stent thrombosis, emergency coronary artery bypass surgery, and vascular injury. PAD had been diagnosed in 529 (5.9%) of the 9,015 patients. Patients with PAD had greater rates of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease and were significantly more likely to develop heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and hemodynamic instability. The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events was significantly greater in patients with PAD than in patients without PAD (20.4% vs 7.0%, p <0.001). Similarly, the in-hospital mortality rate was significantly greater among the patients with PAD (13% vs 3.8%, p <0.001). After adjusting for the baseline and procedural characteristics, PAD remained an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 2.2, 95% confidence interval 1.7 to 3.0, p <0.001). In conclusion, PAD was independently associated with a doubling of the in-hospital mortality risk among patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction.