The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Post-PCI Outcomes: A Study of First Event Occurrences

Previous studies have reported a higher incidence of ischemic events in African Americans (AAs) than in non-AAs following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Moreover, AAs are known to experience worse COVID-19-related outcomes. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the first occurrence of ischemic events among race and gender-stratified post-PCI patients remains unknown.
 
In this retrospective study, we compared patient demographics and the first adverse events post-PCI before (2018-2020) and during (2020-2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and compared using the 2-sample t-test, while categorical variables were compared using the χ2 test. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using Stata17 software.
 
The study population consisted of 1022 patients, with 511 patients before and 511 after the onset of the pandemic. The first occurrence of cardiovascular death, ischemic events, and myocardial infarction was higher during the COVID-19 pandemic than during the pre-pandemic period (P<0.05). During the pandemic, AAs experienced a significantly higher incidence of first ischemic events than non-AAs (P=0.03). Notably, AA men had significantly higher rates of ischemic events than AA women, non-AA men, and non-AA women during the COVID-19 pandemic (P<0.05).
 
These findings further emphasize the importance of addressing the increased thrombogenic risk among AAs, who exhibit higher ischemic risk than their non-AA counterparts. (Iranian Heart Journal 2024; 25(3): 35-50)