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  • Review Article
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Revascularization in stable coronary disease: evidence and uncertainties

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 15, pages 408–419 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Although revascularization has been one of the primary treatment options for obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) for about 50 years, the evidence base for its use is most robust in the area of acute coronary disease. By contrast, evidence — particularly from clinical trials — supporting the use of revascularization to improve clinical outcomes in stable CAD is in some important respects outdated in that it reflects therapies that predate both contemporary standards for optimal medical therapy and current revascularization techniques and technologies. Despite such limitations, these clinical trials still provide the foundation for many of the current guideline-based indications for coronary revascularization in patients with stable CAD. In this Review, we discuss the major factors underlying the clinical decision to perform revascularization in patients with stable CAD and examine the use and limitations of existing evidence on the choice for, and preferred methods of, revascularization, namely, CABG surgery versus percutaneous coronary intervention.

Key points

  • Medical therapy with agents with proven prognostic benefit is now the cornerstone of therapy for stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

  • Revascularization in addition to medical therapy is appropriate in patients with symptoms refractory to medical therapy, high-risk features, and high coronary disease burden, but the potential incremental benefit of revascularization varies between patient subgroups.

  • Our current understanding of what to do therapeutically is based largely on clinical trials designed to detect significant average treatment differences in major adverse clinical events.

  • The evidence base in revascularization for stable CAD is fragmentary, requiring clinicians to use their learning and judgement to treat individual patients who are not typical representatives of any clinical trial.

  • The treatment recommendation should be formulated by a multidisciplinary approach from interventionalists, cardiac surgeons, and noninvasive cardiologists and from patients themselves.

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Fig. 1: Factors influencing the choice of revascularization mode in patients with stable, multivessel coronary artery disease.
Fig. 2: Factors favouring CABG surgery over PCI in patients with multivessel disease and diabetes mellitus.
Fig. 3: Proposed algorithm for selection of optimal therapy for patients with stable coronary artery disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Hygeia Hospital, Athens, Greece

    Demosthenes G. Katritsis

  2. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Daniel B. Mark

  3. Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA

    Bernard J. Gersh

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D.G.K. researched data for the article, and all authors discussed its content. D.G.K. and B.J.G. wrote the manuscript, which was critically reviewed by D.B.M. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript before submission.

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Nature Reviews Cardiology thanks D. Maron, B. Chaitman, and the other anonymous reviewer for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Katritsis, D.G., Mark, D.B. & Gersh, B.J. Revascularization in stable coronary disease: evidence and uncertainties. Nat Rev Cardiol 15, 408–419 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-018-0006-z

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