Background: Patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) are at increased risk of cardiovascular events. The long-term effectiveness of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) in patients with MetS and in diabetic patients is not well defined.
Methods: 563 consecutive patients with 629 de novo coronary lesions (< 50 mm lesion length, reference diameter < 3.5 mm) successfully treated with SES were enrolled in the study and followed for 41 +/- 17 months. Bifurcation and left main lesions were excluded. Patients were categorized into three groups: 1) no MetS and no diabetes; 2) MetS and no diabetes; and 3) diabetes. MetS was defined as the presence of > or = 3 of the following criteria: obesity, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated fasting glucose.
Results: 284 patients (51%) with 318 lesions had neither MetS nor diabetes, 148 patients (26%) with 163 lesions had MetS without diabetes and 131 patients (23%) with 148 lesions had diabetes. Baseline angiographic parameters were comparable between the three groups. Clinically driven target lesion revascularization rates for controls, MetS and diabetics were 7.7%, 5.4% and 14.5%, respectively (p = 0.041). Mortality rates for the three groups were 4.2%, 10.1% and 15.3%, respectively (p = 0.042). There were also significant differences in stent thrombosis (ST) rates with 0.3% in controls, 0.6% in MetS and 6.1% in diabetics (p = 0.037). Annual mortality and ST rates for controls, patients with MetS and diabetic patients were 1.2%, 3.0% and 5.6% (p = 0.037) and 0.2%, 0.3% and 2.7% (p = 0.039), respectively. Late loss in-lesion was 0.19 +/- 0.59 mm in controls, 0.17 +/- 0.44 mm in patients with MetS/no diabetes and 0.46 +/- 0.81 mm in diabetics (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: During long-term follow up after implantation of SES in de novo coronary lesions, MetS without diabetes does not result in an increase in target lesion revascularization or ST rates compared with control patients. However, patients with MetS have a higher follow-up mortality rate compared to control patients.