LMCA Treatment Outcome

Left main coronary artery (LMCA) is a major branch of coronary artery and supplies a large bulk of myocardium. Revascularization by either surgical coronary bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is recommended for significant unprotected LMCA disease, with CABG being preferred if there is significant involvement in other coronary arteries1,2. CABG has been demonstrated to confer survival benefit over medical therapies patients with LMCA in earlier clinical trials3,4,5. However, these trials were performed before the wide adoption of modern medical therapies such as antiplatelet and statin. Antiplatelet agents, for example, was only used in 32% of all patients in the Coronary Artery Surgery Study3. Modern day medical treatment for stable coronary artery diseases have been shown to be non-inferior to revascularization in both the COURAGE and ISCHEMIA trials6,7. However, patients with LMCA involvement were mostly excluded from both of these studies. In Hong Kong, the average waiting time for an elective CABG for stable patients with LMCA is around 18 months, during which time the patients are treated with modern medical therapies including high-intensity statin and antiplatelet.