Discussion
To study the novel complication of DES-VSA, in this prospective, multicentre, open-labelled, randomised trial, we compared the effect of BBs and CCBs on angiography-confirmed ACh-induced VSA at 9 months as a surrogate for DES-VSA. We found that the incidence of ACh-induced VSA among patients randomly receiving BB was not inferior to CCB at the 9-month angiography, in addition to other optimal medical therapies, they received after the initial PCI. Notably, CCB administration was associated with a higher incidence of coronary revascularisation for stable CAD at 24 months than BB administration.
In this study, BBs did not significantly increase the incidence of ACh-induced VSA, compared with CCBs, in contrast to the common belief regarding VSA. Nishigaki et al have demonstrated the effectiveness of CCB in ‘spontaneous’ VSA prevention in a meta-analysis. Four major CCBs, benidipine, amlodipine, nifedipine and diltiazem, were shown to suppress recurrent spontaneous VSA attacks, with benidipine showing the most beneficial effect on long-term MACE.19 Our results showed that BBs are certainly as effective compared with CCBs for VSA prevention after EES implantation, which is believed to be a risk factor for VSA among patients with non-obstructive CAD.
Conversely, we found that BBs do not essentially increase the incidence of VSA among the Japanese population compared with CCB administration. Importantly, we observed a trend in a higher incidence of 24-month hospitalisation for stable CAD in the CCB group, suggesting the presence of protective effects provided by BB. Although this may be due to the higher proportion of patients with a history of PCI and previous stenting, this is an important finding since post-PCI BB administration on discharge, particularly in East Asians, has been reported to be lower than that in Western countries.20–22 This is based on previous observational studies reporting a vulnerability in the occurrence of spontaneous VSA as well as DES-VSA after PCI. In a prospective observational study, Kohno et al studied 615 consecutive patients with VSA-suspected CAD undergoing ACh provocation testing, including those with and without previous PCI; they reported that patients with a history of PCI were significantly associated with higher risks of positive results on provocation; although, its relationship was not illustrated in terms of spontaneous and DES-VSA separately.23 Moreover, these patients were less likely to receive BBs on discharge, although, a higher proportion of these patients presented with unstable angina.
Previous trials have shown mixed results regarding the efficacy of CCBs on DES-VSA and incident MACE. Moreover, these have not been compared with the efficacy of BBs, except in the Japanese Beta-blockers and Calcium Antagonists Myocardial Infarction Study conducted in the pre-DES era.24 The study did not show any significant difference between the BB and CCB groups. In the first-generation DES era, Terashima et al demonstrated that telmisartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, significantly reduces the incidence of ACh-induced VSA compared with amlodipine after coronary DES implantation.17 In our study, approximately 40% of the patients received optimal medical therapy after PCI, including angiotensin-receptor blockers, in both arms, and the proportions did not differ significantly. More recently, in the second-generation DES era, the Nifedipine on Coronary Vascular Function after Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation (NOVEL) Study,25 found that nifedipine was effective for DES-VSA prevention compared with that in patients without CCB or BB administration in patients with stable CAD who had EES implantations to the left anterior descending artery 8–10 months prior to follow-up CAG. Among the 50 patients receiving nifedipine in the NOVEL Study, 38 patients underwent follow-up CAG with ACh provocation testing and 9 (23.7%) patients presented with DES-VSA; this was slightly lower than the present study results. The higher than expected DES-VSA observed in the CCB group may have been caused by difference in patient selection and study protocol resulting in higher proportion of patients with a history of PCI or previous stenting to the target lesion in the CCB group.
This trial has several limitations. First, the current trial was underpowered to detect equivalence for the primary endpoint because of the reduced final sample size owing to slow patient enrolment. Although BBs were not inferior to CCB, the number of patients with the positive ACh response, seven in each group, was small. Therefore, the current trial results may be ‘inconclusive’, warranting future, larger-scale studies. Second, the pathophysiology of clinically observed DES-induced vasospasms may differ from that of vasospasms observed during ACh provocation testing. High concentrations of ACh infused into the coronary artery may have overly diagnosed subclinical DES-VSA as those observed in the real world. Also, ACh provocative testing prior to PCI was not performed. Third, although randomisation was successful for other clinical features, there were fewer patients in the BB group with a history of PCI or prior stenting to the target lesion and more patients with type C lesions, including chronic total occlusion. These factors may have led to a higher incidence of 24-month MACE in the CCB group, mainly driven by elective PCI hospitalisations; although, the exact indications and characteristics of the treated coronary lesions are unknown. Fourth, we did not study the concomitant use of both agents, which may be suitable for patients who had PCI with suspected, or higher risk for coronary endothelial dysfunction. Fifth, the recent findings from the 2020 International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches trial have questioned the need for PCI in patients with stable angina with moderate or more subjectively proven myocardial ischaemia,26 however, our protocol and enrolment was registered in 2012. Sixth, because this study challenges the conventional use of CCB in DES-VSA by suggesting BBs may be equally effective, replicating this study for validation may be difficult: (1) criteria for PCI has become more restrictive for stable angina since this protocol was started in 2012; (2) obtaining informed consent for voluntary cardiac catheterisation in Western countries may be more challenging than in Japan with its cultural differences.