Early heart procedures linked to lower mortality at one year
Earlier artery-opening procedures were linked to lower one-year mortality than delayed procedures, with a hazard ratio—a relative comparison of death rates—of 0.81.
Limit: Patients treated early were younger and had fewer comorbidities than those treated later
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers studied 67,575 patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome, a condition involving suddenly reduced blood flow to the heart. All underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, a procedure to open narrowed heart arteries, in the Netherlands between 2018 and 2023. The retrospective observational cohort study compared procedures within 24 hours of hospital admission with those performed later.
Early procedures were associated with lower mortality at one year, but not a statistically significant reduction at 30 days. In patients younger than 75, early procedures were linked to lower mortality at both time points. Among those aged 75 and older, neither association was statistically significant.
Why it matters
The study raises the question of whether the timing of invasive heart care should be tailored to age, particularly for patients 75 and older.
Caveats
This observational comparison cannot establish cause and effect; patients treated early were younger and had fewer other illnesses. Reported in a conference abstract, the findings cover patients who underwent the procedure and had complete follow-up, not those managed without it.
- Percutaneous coronary intervention
- Non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome
- Estimated glomerular filtration rate
- Humans
The paper
University Medical Center Groningen
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
