Association of angiographic perfusion score following percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction with left ventricular remodeling at 6 weeks in GRACIA-2

Higher angiographic perfusion score (APS) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been shown to be associated with improved clinical outcomes. The association between APS after STEMI and left ventricular remodeling as assessed by volumetric parameters derived from left ventriculography has not been assessed. Methods The APS (the arithmetic sum of the TIMI Flow Grade (TFG) and TIMI Myocardial Perfusion grade (TMPG) before and after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), range of 0–12) was assessed in 168 patients from the GRACIA-2 trial. Left ventriculograms performed in the 30° right anterior oblique projection were obtained among 148 patients at initial angiography (prior to PCI) and at 6 weeks. The association of APS with markers of left ventricular remodeling at 6-weeks was examined using left ventricular ejection fraction, delta end systolic volume, delta stroke volume and wall motion index. Results Full perfusion (APS 10–12), as compared to partial perfusion (APS 4–9) or failed perfusion (APS 0–3), was associated with a greater left ventricular ejection fraction (61.6% ± 10.0 vs. 56.9% ± 12.5 vs. 49.8% ± 16.9, P = 0.015), a decrease in left ventricular end systolic volume indicating favorable remodeling (mean −4.1 cc ± 17.3 vs. +2.0 cc ± 17.3 vs. +9.8 cc ± 16.1, P = 0.015), a greater improvement in left ventricular stroke volume (mean +13.7 cc ± 17.1 vs. +6.7 cc ± 15.5 vs. +1.2 cc ± 13.4, P = 0.009) and a decreased wall motion index (number of chords in the hypokinetic region) (mean 15.1 ± 16.4 vs. 21.4 ± 20.5 vs. 32.9 ± 22.1, P = 0.026) at 6 weeks. Conclusion In conclusion, among patients treated with combined reperfusion and revascularization strategies for STEMI, higher APS is associated with more favorable markers of left ventricular remodeling and improved 6-week left ventricular function.