Short- and long-term results of emergency and elective percutaneous interventions on left main coronary artery stenoses.

In this prospective study, we analyzed the short- and long-term outcomes of percutaneous interventions on significant left main coronary artery (LM) stenoses. Between January 1998 and June 2000, 18 patients underwent emergency interventions on unprotected LM stenoses (group 1), while 15 patients had elective interventions on protected LM stenoses (group 2). Despite a procedural success of 88.9% in group 1, event-free in-hospital and mortality rates were 50.0% and 38.9%. After 6.4 +/- 4.4 months of follow-up, late event-free survival and mortality rates were 33.3% and 38.9%. In group 2, procedural success was 100%, with 100% event-free in-hospital survival; late event-free survival and mortality rates were 93.3% and 0% after 6.7 +/- 4.1 months of follow-up. Emergency interventions on LM stenoses remain a procedure with high acute and mid-term mortality. In spite of the high rate of major adverse cardiac events, an acceptable long-term survival can be achieved.