Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Triple-Vessel Angioplasty for Symptomatic Coronary Artery Disease

Current treatment strategies for multi-vessel coronary artery disease include either coronary artery bypass surgery or percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting. The present study evaluates the morbidity and mortality among coronary artery disease patients undergoing triple-vessel angioplasty. This prospective record based descriptive study was carried out in Medical College, Pariyaram, Kannur, Kerala; a tertiary care cardiac centre in South India. Fifty consecutive patients who underwent angioplasty of one or more lesions in each of the three major coronary arteries from May 2010 to July 2012 were included in the study. The study describes the clinical profile of the patients and a moderate term clinical follow-up to reassess the symptoms, functional status and left ventricular function by history, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and treadmill test. Mortality and morbidity were considered as end-points of the study. Event-free survival rate was 94% at a mean follow-up of 20 months. Overall 98% continued success was obtained with triple-vessel angioplasty. Triple-vessel angioplasty is a safe and effective therapy as an alternative to surgical revascularization in selected patients with triple-vessel coronary artery disease.