Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Background: The AHEAD (A: atrial fibrillation; H: hemoglobin; E: elderly; A: abnormal renal parameters; D: diabetes mellitus) score has been introduced to predict all-cause death (ACD) in patients with heart failure. There is no information available on the utility of this score for the prediction of ACD in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Hypothesis: The AHEAD score may provide superior predictive value for ACD compared to the CHADS₂ score, which has been reported to be useful for predicting poor clinical outcomes in patients with acute (ACS) and chronic coronary syndromes (CCS).

Methods: This retrospective multicenter cohort study analyzed data of the patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention for ACS or CCS between April 2013 and March 2019 using the Clinical Deep Data Accumulation System (CLIDAS) database. The AHEAD score was calculated by assigning 1 point each for atrial fibrillation, hemoglobin <13 mg/dL for men and <12 mg/dL for women, age >70 years, elevated creatinine levels (>130 μmol/L), and diabetes mellitus. The CHADS₂ score was calculated as previously reported. The study endpoint was ACD.

Results: In total, 9,033 patients were enrolled (median age, 72 years; 77% male; 3,920 with ACS and 5,113 with CCS). Higher AHEAD or CHADS₂ scores were significantly associated with a higher rate of left main disease or three-vessel disease in both patients with ACS and CCS. In addition, after accounting for multiple variables using Cox multivariate analysis, both the AHEAD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.83 [95% confidence interval, 1.63–2.06] for ACS and 1.66 [1.49–1.85] for CCS) and CHADS₂ scores (HR 1.27 [1.15–1.40] for ACS and 1.23 [1.12–1.35] for CCS) remained significantly associated with ACD. However, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for predicting ACD revealed that the predictive value of the AHEAD score was significantly higher than that of the CHADS₂ score in both ACS and CCS (Figure). A significant difference was found in the rate of ACD among patients stratified by the AHEAD score in both groups (both P<0.001).

Conclusions: The AHEAD score had superior predictive value for ACD compared to the CHADS₂ score in patients with CAD, irrespective of ACS or CCS.