Trends in primary angioplasty in Portugal from 2002 to 2013 according to the Portuguese National Registry of Interventional Cardiology

Abstract Introduction and Objectives The aim of the present paper was to report trends in coronary angioplasty for the treatment of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in Portugal. Methods Prospective multicenter data from the Portuguese National Registry of Interventional Cardiology (RNCI) and official data from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) were studied to analyze percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures for STEMI from 2002 to 2013. Results In 2013, 3524 primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) procedures were performed (25% of all procedures), an increase of 315% in comparison to 2002 (16% of all interventions). Between 2002 and 2013 the rate increased from 106 to 338 p-PCIs per million population per year. Rescue angioplasty decreased from 70.7% in 2002 to 2% in 2013. During this period, the use of drug-eluting stents grew from 9.9% to 69.5%. After 2008, the use of aspiration thrombectomy increased, reaching 46.7% in 2013. Glycoprotein IIb-IIIa inhibitor use decreased from 73.2% in 2002 to 23.6% in the last year of the study. Use of a radial approach increased steadily from 8.3% in 2008 to 54.6% in 2013. Conclusion During the reporting period there was a three-fold increase in primary angioplasty rates per million population. Rescue angioplasty has been overtaken by p-PCI as the predominant procedure since 2006. New trends in the treatment of STEMI were observed, notably the use of drug-eluting stents and radial access as the predominant approach.