Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common inflammatory arthritis and is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality. Evidence regarding outcomes following PCI is limited. This study aimed to assess differences in outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between patients with and without RA. The Melbourne Interventional Group PCI registry (2005 to 2018) was used to identify 756 patients with RA. Outcomes were compared with the remaining cohort (n = 38,579). Patients with RA were older, more often female, with higher rates of hypertension, previous stroke, peripheral vascular disease, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic lung disease, myocardial infarction, and renal impairment, whereas rates of dyslipidemia and current smoking were lower, all p <0.05. Lesions in patients with RA were more frequently complex (ACC/AHA type B2/C), requiring longer stents, with higher rates of no reflow, all p <0.05. Risk of long-term mortality, adjusted for potential confounders, was higher for patients with RA (hazard ratio 1.53, 95% confidence interval 1.30 to 1.80; median follow-up 5.0 years), whereas 30-day outcomes including mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, bleeding, stroke, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass surgery, and target vessel revascularization were similar. In subgroup analysis, patients with RA and lower BMI (P_{for interaction} < 0.001) and/or acute coronary syndromes (P_{for interaction} = 0.05) had disproportionately higher risk of long-term mortality compared with patients without RA. In conclusion, patients with RA who underwent PCI had more co-morbidities and longer, complex coronary lesions. Risk of short-term adverse outcomes was similar, whereas risk of long-term mortality was higher, especially among patients with acute coronary syndromes and lower body mass index.