Temporal changes in the pattern of invasive angiography use and its outcome in suspected coronary artery disease: implications for patient management and healthcare resource utilization

摘要

Introduction Invasive coronary angiography (CAG), the ‘gold standard’ in coronary artery disease (CAD) diagnosis, requires hospitalization, is not risk-free, and engages considerable healthcare resources. Aim To assess recent (throught out 10 years) evolution of ‘significant’ (≥ 50% stenosis(es)) CAD prevalence in subjects undergoing CAG for CAD diagnosis in a?high-volume tertiary referral center. Material and methods Anonymized medical records were compared from the last vs. the first 2-years of the decade (June 2007 to May 2018). Referrals for suspected CAD were 2067 of 4522 hospitalizations (45.7%) and 1755 of 5196 (33.8%) respectively (p Results The median patient age (64 vs. 68 years) and the prevalence of heart failure (24.1% vs. 42.2%) increased significantly (p Conclusions Despite more advanced age and a?higher proportion of subjects with ‘any’ coronary atherosclerosis on CAG, the likelihood of a?‘negative’ angiogram (lesion(s)