Abstract
Introduction
In patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), lipid lowering therapy is recommended as cornerstone of secondary prevention. Treatment of elderly patients inherits a medical challenge, as they experience higher absolute risk reduction with more intensive lipid lowering regimes but may be more prone to side effects by therapy.
Purpose
To evaluate the treatment patterns in lipid lowering therapy comparing CAD-patients above vs. below 75 years of age.
Methods
We retrospectively included patients with known CAD, admitted to the West German Heart and Vascular Center in the years of 2009–2010 (n=500), 2012–2013 (n=500), and 2015–2016 (n=500). LDL-cholesterol levels and intensity of stain therapy (based on dosage and type of statin) were assessed from all available hospital records. Lipid levels and treatment regimens were evaluated comparing patients ≥75 vs. <75 years of age. The analysis was approved by the local ethics committee (17–7458-BO).
Results
A total of 1,500 patients (mean age: 68.4±11.2 years, 75.8% male) from 813 referring treating primary care physicians in 98 cities of Germany were included in our analysis. 983 patients were <75, whereas 517 were ≥75 years of age. Elderly patients were less likely male (67.9% vs. 79.9%, p<0.0001), had lower BMI (26.8kg/m2 vs. 28.4kg/m2, p<0.0001), and less likely current smokers (7.6% vs. 19.2%, p<0.0001, for patients ≥75 vs. <75 years of age, respectively). LDL-cholesterol levels were not significantly different between age groups (≥75: 96.1±35.1 mg/dl; <75: 98.9±35.7mg/dl, p=0.14). In contrast, elderly patients had higher HDL-cholesterol levels (49.9±15.1 mg/dl vs. 46.7±15.2, p=0.0002) and markedly lower triglycerides (135.6±90.0mg/dl vs. 171.4±124.6mg/dl, p<0.0001). Simvastatin was most frequently prescribed in both age groups (54.9% vs. 50.7%, p=0.16), followed by Atorvastatin (31.6% vs. 33.3%, p=0.53). Elderly patients received significantly lower dosages of statin (28.8±12.8mg vs. 31.4±13.7mg, p=0.0007). Interestingly, patients ≥75 years of age archived LDL<70mg/dl slightly more frequently than younger patients (24.0% vs. 20.1%, p=0.09). Excluding patients with myocardial infarction at presentation, CK-levels were not relevantly different between age groups (131.9±450.0U/l vs. 127.5±111.4U/l, p=0.78). Excluding patients with signs of systemic inflammation, high-sensitive CRP levels did not differ when comparing patients ≥75 vs. <75 years of age (0.15±0.12mg/dl vs. 0.14±0.12mg/dl, p=0.33).
Conclusion
Evaluating lipid lowering treatment patters of 1500 patients from 813 treating physicians, we observed that patients ≥75 years of age receive lower doses of statin therapy, but reached slightly lower LDL-cholesterol-levels. However, the majority of elderly patients miss current recommendations regarding LDL-thresholds. Interestingly, no signs of a higher frequency of statin-induced myopathy in the elderly were observed in our analysis.
Absolute risk of cardiovascular disease events, and blood pressure‐ and lipid‐lowering therapy in Australia
