Two-Year Follow-Up of Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease Patients in a Specialized Center in Brazil

Background: The incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease (CIHD) may vary significantly among countries. Although populous, Brazil is often underrepresented in international records.Objectives: This study aimed to describe the quality of care and the two-year incidence of cardiovascular events and associated prognostic factors in CIHD patients in a tertiary public health care center in Brazil.Methods: Patients with CIHD who reported for clinical evaluation at Instituto do Coracao (Sao Paulo, Brazil) were registered and followed for two years. The primary endpoint was a composite of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or death. A significance level of 0.05 was adopted.Results: From January 2016 to December 2018, 625 participants were included in the study. Baseline characteristics show that 33.1% were women, median age 66.1 [59.6 - 71.9], 48.6% had diabetes, 83.1% had hypertension, 62.6% had previous MI, and 70.4% went through some revascularization procedure. At a median follow-up (FU) of 881 days, we noted 37 (7.05%) primary endpoints. After adjustments, age, previous stroke, and LDL-cholesterol were independently associated with the primary endpoint. Comparing baseline versus FU, participants experienced relief of angina based on the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) scale according to the following percentages: 65.7% vs. 81.7% were asymptomatic and 4.2% vs. 2.9% CCS 3 or 4 (p < 0.001). They also experienced better quality of medication prescription: 65.8% vs. 73.6% (p < 0.001). However, there was no improvement in LDL-cholesterol or blood pressure control. Conclusion: This study shows that CIHD patients had a two-year incidence of the primary composite endpoint of 7.05%, and the reduction of LDL-cholesterol was the only modifiable risk factor associated with prognosis.