Periprocedural Myocardial Injury Using CKMB Following Elective PCI: Incidence and Associations With Long-Term Mortality.

Background: Myocardial injury detected after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with increased mortality. Predictors of post-PCI myocardial injury are not well established. The long-term prognostic relevance of post-PCI myocardial injury remains uncertain.

Methods: Consecutive adults aged ≥18 years with stable ischemic heart disease who underwent elective PCI at NYU Langone Health between 2011 and 2020 were included in a retrospective, observational study. Patients with acute myocardial infarction or creatinine kinase myocardial band (CKMB) or troponin concentrations >99% of the upper reference limit before PCI were excluded. All patients had routine measurement of CKMB concentrations at 1 and 3 hours post-PCI. Post-PCI myocardial injury was defined as a peak CKMB concentration >99% upper reference limit. Linear regression models were used to identify clinical factors associated with post-PCI myocardial injury. Cox proportional hazard models were generated to evaluate relationships between post-PCI myocardial injury and all-cause mortality at long-term follow-up.

Results: Among 10 807 patients undergoing elective PCI, the median age was 67 years (interquartile range, 15.6), and 24.9% were of female sex. Post-PCI myocardial injury occurred in 1813 (16.8%) patients. Myocardial injury was less common among female than male patients (14.1% versus 17.7%, P<0.001). Older age, longer lesion lengths, multivessel PCI, severe coronary calcification, and thrombectomy device use were independently associated with post-PCI myocardial injury with CKMB levels ≥99th percentile upper limit of normal. Over 46 071 patient-years of follow-up (mean 4.3 years), 472 patients died (4.4%). A greater proportion of patients with versus without post-PCI myocardial injury died during follow-up (7.9% versus 3.6%, P<0.001). After adjustment for demographics and clinical covariates, post-PCI myocardial injury was associated with an excess hazard for long-term mortality (hazard ratio, 1.46 [95% CI, 1.20-1.78]).

Conclusions: Myocardial injury defined by elevated CKMB early after PCI is common and associated with all-cause, long-term mortality. More complex coronary anatomy is predictive of post-PCI myocardial injury.