Blood pressure and risks of vascular complications after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Evidence-based protocols are needed for care of the nearly 1,000,000 patients in the United States who undergo percutaneous coronary interventional procedures. This article describes a case-matched control study of 300 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in which specific demographic, physician-sensitive, and nurse-sensitive factors were tested to determine their relative contribution to the incidence of vascular complications. Findings included that patients with a mean systolic blood pressure of 160 mm Hg or higher were 8 times more likely to have vascular complications (P < .001). Patients receiving heparin (with and without glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors) versus bivalirudin were 3 times more likely to have vascular complications (P = .008). Patients with hemostasis by AngioSeal and those with a history of hypertension were 77% (P =.031) and 61% (P = .005), respectively, less likely to have complications.