Impact of anemia on percutaneous coronary intervention in Chinese patients: A large single center data

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact of anemia on 2-year outcomes in patients undergoing contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: Whether anemia is an independent predictor of adverse outcomes after PCI is under debate. METHODS: A total of 10 717 consecutive patients who underwent PCI with available hemoglobin values at Fuwai Hospital were collected. Clinical outcomes were compared between patients with and without anemia both before and after PCI procedure. RESULTS: Totally, 1348 (12.5%) and 3111 (29.0%) patients presented with pre- and post-PCI anemia according to World Health Organization criteria (hemoglobin level <120 g/L for women or <130 g/L for men), respectively. Anemic patients presented with more baseline clinical risks and more extensive coronary disease than those without anemia. During 2-year follow-up, patients with pre-PCI anemia had higher incidence of bleeding and stroke than those without pre-PCI anemia. Patients with post-PCI anemia experienced higher incidence of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel revascularization (TVR), bleeding, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) than those without post-PCI anemia. Survival analyses were performed using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models both before and after propensity score matching. Pre-PCI anemia was not an independent risk factor of any adverse clinical events. Post-PCI anemia was not an independent risk factor of all-cause death, but was an independent risk factor of MI, TVR, and MACE. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-PCI anemia was not an independent risk factor of any adverse clinical events, while post-PCI anemia had a predictable value of MI, TVR, and MACE after PCI.