Abstract
PURPOSE: Coronary artery disease represents a major clinical burden, and angina pectoris is the most frequent manifestation of coronary artery disease. Nicorandil is commonly used for the management of angina pectoris; however, its effects on health status outcomes are unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This multicenter, prospective, cohort study (GREAT) enrolled 1556 adult coronary artery disease patients with angina pectoris from nine hospitals in China. Patients were classified into nicorandil and control groups. The primary outcome was the change in the Seattle Angina Questionnaire summary score (SAQ-SS) from baseline to 12 months. Secondary outcomes included changes in SAQ-SS at 3, 6, and 9 months. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to reduce bias and control for confounding factors. RESULTS: We analyzed 1528 patients with baseline and 12-month health status data. After PSM, 450 matched pairs of patients were identified. A difference of ≥5 points for SAQ-SS is considered clinically significant. Patients in the nicorandil group reported greater mean improvement in SAQ-SS (17.6 ± 14.0, difference: 2.50, 95% CI: 0.74-4.27; P=0.003) at 12 months compared with the control group (15.1 ± 13.0; P=0.003). Similar trends were noted in SAQ-SS at 3, 6, and 9 months. Additionally, nicorandil users exhibited significantly greater improvements in the SAQ physical limitation (11.7 ± 16.9 vs 8.4 ± 16.9; difference: 3.27, 95% CI, 1.05-5.48; P =0.001) and SAQ-QoL domain (18.9 ± 21.4 vs 16.3 ± 20.4; difference: 2.62, 95% CI, -0.12 to 5.35; P=0.042) at 12 months. Most patients in the entire cohort (78.4%) reported a clinical improvement in SAQ-SS. The nicorandil group had a higher proportion of patients with at least large improvements (≥20 points) in SAQ-SS (42.5% vs 32.9%; difference: 9.7%, 95% CI: 3.3-16.0; P= 0.004). CONCLUSION: Among patients with angina pectoris, anti-angina treatment improved the majority of patients' health status. Nicorandil-based regimens were associated with a greater health status outcome improvement compared to those not using nicorandil in coronary artery disease patients with angina pectoris. A substantial proportion of patients using nicorandil exhibited noteworthy improvements in health status outcomes at one year. REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05050773.