SCAI has partnered with the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association to release a joint guideline after findings revealed that patients who receive coronary artery revascularization experience similar outcomes regardless of gender or race. The recommendations, which that state revascularization treatment decisions for coronary artery disease should be based on clinical indications and involve a multidisciplinary heart team that includes the patient and patient preferences, were published today. 

Coronary artery revascularization is a procedure used to restore blood flow through a blocked heart artery. It can be performed using percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), where a stent is placed in the blocked artery via a catheter inserted in the wrist or thigh, or via coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), where an artery or vein from another part of the body is inserted via open-heart surgery to bypass the blockage.   

The guideline updates recommendations for intervention, surgery, and/or medical therapy in certain populations, including appropriate use of surgical revascularization or percutaneous revascularization for different disease states. Evidence has found that surgery is a reasonable recommendation to improve survival yet may not provide as strong a benefit over medication therapy as previously thought for patients with stable ischemic heart disease, normal left ventricular ejection fraction, and triple-vessel coronary artery disease. Evidence also shows the ability of PCI to improve survival over medical therapy in this population is uncertain. 

The “2021 ACC/AHA/SCAI Guideline for Coronary Artery Revascularization” is now available in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Circulation.