International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness With Medical and Invasive Approaches (ISCHEMIA)

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Trial end date: 2026-03-31

Summary

The purpose of the ISCHEMIA trial is to determine the best management strategy for higher-risk patients with stable ischemic heart disease (SIHD). This is a multicenter randomized controlled trial with 5179 randomized participants with moderate or severe ischemia on stress testing. A blinded coronary computed tomography angiogram (CCTA) was performed in most participants with eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73m2 to identify and exclude participants with either significant unprotected left main disease (≥50% stenosis) or those without obstructive CAD (<50% stenosis in all major coronary arteries). Of 8518 participants enrolled, those that had insufficient ischemia, ineligible anatomy demonstrated on CCTA or another exclusion criterion, did not go on to randomization. Eligible participants were then assigned at random to a routine invasive strategy (INV) with cardiac catheterization followed by revascularization, if feasible, plus optimal medical therapy (OMT) or to a conservative strategy (CON) of OMT, with cardiac catheterization and revascularization reserved for those who fail OMT.

SPECIFIC AIMS

A. Primary Aim The primary aim of the ISCHEMIA trial is to determine whether an initial invasive strategy of cardiac catheterization followed by optimal revascularization, if feasible, in addition to OMT, will reduce the primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, resuscitated cardiac arrest, or hospitalization for unstable angina or heart failure in participants with SIHD and moderate or severe ischemia over an average follow-up of approximately 3.5 years compared with an initial conservative strategy of OMT alone with catheterization reserved for failure of OMT.

B. Secondary Aims Secondary aims are to determine whether an initial invasive strategy compared to a conservative strategy will improve: 1) the composite of CV death or MI; 2) angina symptoms and quality of life, as assessed by the Seattle Angina Questionnaire; 3) all-cause mortality; 4) net clinical benefit assessed by including stroke in the primary and secondary composite endpoints; and 5) individual components of the composite endpoints.

Condition: Coronary Disease Procedure: Coronary CT Angiogram Procedure: Cardiac catheterization Phase: Phase III per NIH

Condition: Cardiovascular Diseases Procedure: Angioplasty, Transluminal, Percutaneous Coronary, other catheter-based interventions Phase: Phase III per NIH

Condition: Heart Diseases Procedure: Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Phase: Phase III per NIH

• Phase: N/A

Details

• Lead Sponsor: New York University School of Medicine; NYU Langone Health
• Collaborators: Albany Stratton VA Medical Center; Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Columbia University; Duke University; East Carolina University; Emory University; Harvard University; Massachusetts General Hospital; Montreal Heart Institute; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); New York University; Stanford University; University of British Columbia; University of Missouri, Kansas City; Vanderbilt University