The impact of new-onset ventricular arrhythmias on prognosis after percutaneous coronary intervention

Abstract Background Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) are a common cause of death in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD); however, the impact of new-onset VAs after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on prognosis remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors for the occurrence of VAs after PCI and their effects on prognosis. Methods Patients undergoing PCI enrolled from January 2013 to December 2013. New-Onset VAs are defined as those occurring after 48 hours post- PCI. The primary endpoint of this study is cardiac death. All-cause death, acute heart failure (AHF)-related readmission, and syncope were considered secondary endpoints. Results A total of 9,431 patients were included. Among them, 336 (3.6%) patients developed new-onset VAs during follow-up after discharge. During the 6-year follow-up period, a total of 368 patients died, 117 patients hospitalized due to AHF, 76 patients experienced syncope. Multivariate Cox analysis indicates that new-onset VAs was not independently associated with all-cause mortality or cardiac mortality (Figure 1). However, the new-onset VAs group had significantly higher rates of syncope (6.5% vs. 0.6%, p 0.001) and AHF-related readmission (4.2% vs. 1.1%, p 0.001) (Figure 2). In addition, the new-onset VAs was identified as an independent risk factor for both syncope and AHF-related readmission. Older age, PCI history, and coronary artery bypass grafting history were identified as independent risk factors for new-onset VAs during the follow-up period. Conclusions Although new-onset VAs after PCI may not be fatal, it is associated with an increased risk of syncope and AHF-related readmission.figure 1 figure 2