Impact of Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers on Clinical Outcomes after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction Based on Data from the Korean National Health Insurance Database (2005–2014)

Background and Objectives: The effectiveness of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) compared with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has not been established. We investigated the effects of ARBs on clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in AMI patients. Methods: Patients receiving ACEIs or ARBs after AMI treated with PCI between January 2005 and December 2014 were selected from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. The primary endpoint was major cardiovascular adverse event (MACE; all-cause death, myocardial infarct [MI], or stroke). Results: We included patients regularly taking ACEIs (n=22,331) or ARBs (n=28,533) (medication possession ratio ≥80%). Compared with the ACEI group, the ARB group contained more females (31% vs. 18%), were older (mean, 63 vs. 60 years), and had more comorbidities, including hypertension (62.8% vs. 44.8%), diabetes (33.9% vs. 26.4%), congestive heart failure (7.9% vs. 4.3%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (25.5% vs. 18.9%), and end-stage renal disease (1.3% vs. 0.4%) (p<0.001 for all). After propensity score–matching, ARBs were associated with a 23% lower risk of MACE (hazard ratio [HR], 0.774; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.715–0.838; p<0.001) than ACEIs. ARB use was also associated with a significantly reduced risk of death (HR, 0.741; 95% CI, 0.659–0.834; p<0.001), MI (HR, 0.731; 95% CI, 0.638–0.837; p<0.001), and revascularization (HR, 0.816; 95% CI, 0.773–0.861; p<0.001). Conclusions: ARB use was associated with a lower risk of MACE, MI, and revascularization than ACEIs in our retrospective analysis of AMI patients who underwent PCI.