Abstract P154: Blood Pressure and Lipid Control Variation in Faculty versus Trainee Clinics

Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 137 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarina Sachdev ◽  
Bassam A Omar ◽  
Christopher Malozzi ◽  
G. Mustafa Awan

Background: Clinics run by trainees are often composed of indigent patients with challenging problems as to implementation of preventive measures. Methods: Charts were selected based on the inclusion of hypertension as a diagnosis; 100 visits were reviewed in each of two groups. The first group (clinic 1) included patients seen by a cardiologist faculty; all patients had insurance. The second group (clinic 2) included visits seen by cardiology fellows, and directly supervised by the same faculty physician; with the majority of these patients lacking insurance. The difference between the groups with regards to age, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), and LDL cholesterol were analyzed using Student's t-Test. Results: The mean age of patients in clinic 1 was 62±14 years compared with 52±9 years in clinic 2 (P < 0.01). There was 100% documentation of weight, BP and HR on every visit. The mean weight in clinic 1 was insignificantly lower compared with clinic 2 (202±61 vs 218±60 lbs respectively; P = 0.06). SBP was similar in both clinics (132±18 vs 130±21 mmHg respectively; P = 0.38). HR was lower in clinic 1 compared with clinic 2 (67±10 vs 77±15 BPM respectively; P < 0.01). Lipid profiles, which required a separate visit to the lab and extra charge, were documented in 93% of patients in clinic 1 versus only 34% of patients in clinic 2. LDL cholesterol was lower in clinic 1 compared with clinic 2 (88±34 vs 106±35 mg/dL respectively; P=0.01). While HDL was similar in both clinics (48 ± 14 in clinic 1 versus 46 ± 15 mg/dL in clinic 2; P = NS), non-HDL was lower, at 115 ± 38 in clinic 1 versus 136 ± 40 mg/dL in clinic 2 (P < 0.01). Discussion: Hypertension and dyslipidemia are major health problem. Adequate control of blood pressure and LDL cholesterol correlate with better cardiovascular outcomes. Our data demonstrate that both faculty and fellow clinics achieved mean BP of < 140/90 mmHg, with 100% documentation. However, documentation and control of lipids appear to be more challenging in indigent patients due to the extra burden and cost of undergoing lab tests. Compliance with medications and the prescription of affordable generic, often less potent, lipid-lowering therapy to indigent patients in the fellow clinic may also play a role in the higher LDL levels compared with the faculty clinic. Efforts at improving the adherence of all patients to preventive therapy aimed at achieving guideline-based BP and lipid targets should be included in quality improvement projects during residency training.

Author(s):  
Bradley Collins ◽  
Avinainder Singh ◽  
Sanjay Divakaran ◽  
Arman Qamar ◽  
Julio Baez ◽  
...  

Background: Current data suggest patients who have a myocardial infarction (MI) benefit from aggressive LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering. Consequently, initiation of lipid lowering therapy is a class I recommendation post-MI to reduce the risk of future adverse events. We sought to evaluate LDL-C lowering among patients who experience a first MI at a young age. Methods: Clinical & billing data were used to identify women < 50 years and men < 45 years who had a first MI from two large medical centers. Type of MI was adjudicated by review of medical records, and only patients with a Type 1 MI were included. The magnitude of LDL-C reduction was calculated by comparing the LDL-C pre-MI to the LDL-C one year later. Results: 280 patients (age 42 years ± 5; 35% women) with a complete lipid panel prior to MI and 1 year post-MI were included in this analysis. The mean LDL-C was 123 mg/dL pre-MI, and 82 mg/dL post-MI (p<0.0001). In the entire population, the mean reduction in LDL-C post MI was 27% (95% CI, -32% to -23%), although men had a greater reduction than women (32% vs. 16%, p<0.001). When examining the post-MI LDL-C levels, 214 (76%) reached an LDL-C of <100 mg/dL and 115 (41%) reached an LDL-C of <70 mg/dL. Out of patients who had LDL-C>130mg/dL pre-MI (n=114), 82 (71%) reached an LDL-C of <100 mg/dL, and 35 (30%) reached an LDL-C of <70 mg/dL. Notably, 54 (19%) patients had an LDL-C increase at one year. Conclusions: Among patients experiencing MI at a young age, LDL-C reduction was only modest (27% reduction). Women had a significantly smaller reduction in LDL-C compared with men. Further research is needed to determine the underlying reasons for the sub-optimal reduction in LDL-C, as well as sex specific differences that may account for these disparities.


Circulation ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (suppl_16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuki Okada ◽  
Yasunori Ueda ◽  
Satoshi Saito ◽  
Atsushi Hirayama ◽  
Kazuhisa Kodama

Background We have previously reported the stabilization and regression of coronary plaque by atorvastatin using both angioscopy and IVUS. However, it has not been clarified if plaque stabilization is achieved through the reduction of cholesterol level or the direct effect of statin. Then, we analyzed the effect of achieved low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level on the stabilization of coronary plaque. Methods Twenty-nine patients with hypercholesterolemia and coronary heart disease were studied. They received lipid-lowering therapy with atorvastatin (10 –20 mg/day) for 80 weeks and were divided into 2 groups by the achieved LDL cholesterol level at 80-week follow up (low LDL group: LDL cholesterol < median value, and high LDL group: LDL cholesterol ≥ median value). Angioscopic examination was performed before and after 80 weeks treatment with atorvastatin. Angioscopic findings of coronary yellow plaque characteristics were divided into six grades (grade 0 to 5) to evaluate vulnerability of plaques; and the mean grade of each patient was evaluated. Results In all 29 patients, LDL cholesterol level was reduced (146.2 to 87.9 mg/dl; p<0.001) and the mean yellow plaque grade was decreased (1.4 to 1.2; p=0.002) at 80-week follow up. LDL cholesterol level was reduced both in low LDL group (140.3 to 75.9 mg/dl; p<0.001) and in high LDL group (151.7 to 99.1 mg/dl; p<0.001). Angioscopic examination showed significant improvement of the grade in low LDL group (1.4 to 1.1; p=0.012) at 80-week follow up, but no significant difference in high LDL group (1.4 to 1.3; p=0.11). Conclusions Lipid-lowering therapy with atorvastatin stabilized coronary plaques, and this effect was larger in the patients LDL cholesterol was reduced more.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252321
Author(s):  
Catharina Busch ◽  
Julius L. Katzmann ◽  
Claudia Jochmann ◽  
Jan Darius Unterlauft ◽  
Daniela Vollhardt ◽  
...  

Purpose Cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension or dyslipidemia can influence the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME). The aim of this study is to describe the comorbidities in patients with DME. Methods Prospective, monocentric observational study. Patients presenting for the treatment of DME received laboratory and clinical examinations including 24-hour blood pressure measurement. Results Seventy-five consecutive patients were included in the study. The mean age was 61.0 ± 14.5 years, and 83% had type 2 diabetes. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 32.8 ± 6.0 kg/m2. Overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) was present in 92% of all patients. HbA1c values were > 7.0% in 57%. Although 87% of the patients already received antihypertensive therapy, the blood pressure (BP) of 82% was still above the recommended target values of systolic < 140 mmHg and diastolic < 80 mmHg. An insufficient nocturnal fall of the systolic BP (< 10%, non-dipping or reverse dipping) was observed in 62%. In 83% of the patients the glomerular filtration rate was ≤ 90 ml/min/1.73m2. Despite 65% of the cohort already receiving lipid-lowering therapy, LDL cholesterol was above the target value of 1.4 mmol/l in 93%. All patients had at least one cardiovascular risk factor in addition to diabetes (overweight, hypertension, insufficient nocturnal BP fall, dyslipidemia, or renal dysfunction) and 86% had ≥ 3 risk factors. Conclusion DME patients are characterized by highly prevalent cardiovascular risk factors that are poorly controlled. These comorbidities reduce the prognosis and negatively influence existing DR and DME. The data reveal an important opportunity for improving patient care by interaction of the ophthalmologist with the general practitioner and internal specialists for the detection and treatment of these conditions.


Circulation ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 118 (suppl_18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A Duprez ◽  
Natalia Florea ◽  
Jia Xu ◽  
Gregory A Grandits ◽  
Lynn Hoke ◽  
...  

Background: Increased blood pressure (BP) response during exercise has been associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. It is unknown how LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c) is related to the exercise-induced BP response as well as to the large (LAE) and small artery (SAE) elasticity in subjects free from overt cardiovascular disease (CVD). We examined the relationship between serum LDL-c and the BP response during a moderate exercise treadmill test in subjects with no overt CVD and also the relationship between LDL-c and LAE and SAE. Methods: 1229 Subjects (700 male, 529 female) free of overt CVD were recruited during a CVD prevention screening program. A fasting venous blood sample was taken for LDL-cholesterol determination. LAE and SAE were derived from radial pulse wave contour analysis. Resting BP was measured. Then they performed a treadmill exercise test for 3 minutes at a 5 METS (metabolic equivalents) workload. Systolic and diastolic BP were measured at the peak of the 3 min exercise test, The study population was divided in quartiles among distribution of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c). Results: Table 1 summarizes the results. There was no significant difference in large artery elasticity. Conclusions: In asymptomatic subjects, LDL-c is not related with resting BP. Higher LDL-c is related with higher exercise systolic BP response. This higher BP response can be explained by a lower smaller artery elasticity which is a marker for endothelial dysfunction probably related to higher LDL-c. Further studies to examine the effect of lipid-lowering therapy on exercise BP response are warranted Table 1


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 117-130
Author(s):  
Svetlana A. Chepurnenko ◽  
Galina V. Shavkuta ◽  
Alina V. Safonova

Background. The prevalence of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) comprises 1 per 250 people. The risk of premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) is 20 times higher in HeFH patients among the general population. CVD develops in HeFH patients under 20 years of age, and they usually do not survive to 30 years. Therefore, the primary treatment track here is correction of dyslipidaemia to prevent atherosclerosis progression and CVD. Clinical Case Descriptions. The article describes the clinical cases of familial dyslipidaemia in 47-yo patient M. and his 75-yo mother P. The patient had a visit related to blood pressure (BP) surges up to 140/90 mm Hg. In history: acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in maternal grandfather at 50 years and own uncle at 32 years. The patient’s cardiovascular risk factors: male gender, dyslipidaemia (total cholesterol (TC) 15.8 mmol/L), overweight (body mass index 29.9 kg/m2), familial history of young CVD, sedentary lifestyle (employed as manager), psychological and socioeconomic factors (work-related stress pressure), resting heart rate 88 beats/min. The patient was immediately ordered a combined hypolipidaemic therapy including rosuvastatin 20 mg, ezetimibe 10 mg, telmisartan 40 mg once daily for blood pressure correction. In 1-month therapy, cholesterol dropped to 4.4 mmol/L, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol – to 2.2, but triglycerides remained high at 3.9 mmol/L. Fenofi brate added to therapy at 145 mg 1 time. Another 1-month therapy allowed the overall reduction of TC to 3.7, LDL cholesterol to 1.9, triglycerides to 2.17 and high-density lipoproteins to 1.19 mmol/L. Past 3 months, a further drop was observed in triglycerides to 1.7 mmol/L. Hence, a triple hypolipidaemic therapy facilitated the target LDL and triglyceride values without involving expensive medications like PCSK9 blockers. The patient’s mother also achieved the target basic lipidogram owing to a triple lipid-lowering therapy.Conclusion. The case is of interest to exemplify a successful triple lipid-lowering therapy in patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermann Yao ◽  
Michel Farnier ◽  
Laura Tribouillard ◽  
Frédéric Chague ◽  
Philippe Brunel ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Although patients with familial heterozygous hypercholesterolemia (FH) have a high risk of early myocardial infarction (MI), the coronary artery disease (CAD) burden in FH patients with acute MI remains to be investigated. Methods The data for all consecutive patients hospitalized in 2012–2019 for an acute MI and who underwent coronary angiography were collected from a multicenter database (RICO database). FH (n = 120) was diagnosed using Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria (score ≥ 6). We compared the angiographic features of MI patients with and without FH (score 0–2) (n = 234) after matching for age, sex, and diabetes (1:2). Results Although LDL-cholesterol was high (208 [174–239] mg/dl), less than half of FH patients had chronic statin treatment. When compared with non-FH patients, FH increased the extent of CAD (as assessed by SYNTAX score; P = 0.005), and was associated with more frequent multivessel disease (P = 0.004), multiple complex lesions (P = 0.022) and significant stenosis location on left circumflex and right coronary arteries. Moreover, FH patients had more multiple lesions, with an increased rate of bifurcation lesions or calcifications (P = 0.021 and P = 0.036, respectively). In multivariate analysis, LDL-cholesterol levels (OR 1.948; 95% CI 1.090–3.480, P = 0.024) remained an independent estimator of anatomical complexity of coronary lesions, in addition to age (OR 1.035; 95% CI 1.014–1.057, P = 0.001). Conclusions FH patients with acute MI had more severe CAD, characterized by complex anatomical features that are mainly dependent on the LDL-cholesterol burden. Our findings reinforce the need for more aggressive preventive strategies in these high-risk patients, and for intensive lipid-lowering therapy as secondary prevention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Ogawa ◽  
H Sekiguchi ◽  
K Jujo ◽  
E Kawada-Watanabe ◽  
H Arashi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There are limited data on the effects of blood pressure (BP) control and lipid lowering in secondary prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. We report a secondary analysis of the effects of BP control and lipid management in participants of the HIJ-CREATE, a prospective randomized trial. Methods HIJ-CREATE was a multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled trial that compared the effects of candesartan-based therapy with those of non-ARB-based standard therapy on major adverse cardiac events (MACE; a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina, heart failure, stroke, and other cardiovascular events requiring hospitalization) in 2,049 hypertensive patients with angiographically documented CAD. In both groups, titration of antihypertensive agents was performed to reach the target BP of &lt;130/85 mmHg. The primary endpoint was the time to first MACE. Incidence of endpoint events in addition to biochemistry tests and office BP was determined during the scheduled 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60-month visits. Achieved systolic BP and LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C) level were defined as the mean values of these measurements in patients who did not develop MACEs and as the mean values of them prior to MACEs in those who developed MACEs during follow-up. Results During a median follow-up of 4.2 years (follow-up rate of 99.6%), the primary outcome occurred in 304 patients (30.3%). Among HIJ-CREATE participants, 905 (44.2%) were prescribed statins on enrollment. Kaplan–Meier curves for the primary outcome revealed that there was no relationship between statin therapy and MACEs in hypertensive patients with CAD. The original HIJ-CREATE population was divided into 9 groups based on equal tertiles based on mean achieved BP and LDL-C during follow-up. For the analysis of subgroups, estimates of relative risk and the associated 95% CIs were generated with a Cox proportional-hazards model (Figure 1). The relation between LDL cholesterol level and hazard ratios for MACEs was nonlinear, with a significant increase of MACEs only in the patients with inadequate controlled LDL-C level even in the patients with tightly controlled BP. Conclusions The results of the post-hoc analysis of the HIJ-CREATE suggest that clinicians should pay careful attention to conduct comprehensive management of lipid lowering even in the contemporary BP lowering for the secondary prevention in hypertensive patients with CAD. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (17) ◽  
pp. 669-675
Author(s):  
Gábor Simonyi

Introduction: Dyslipidemia is a well-known cardiovascular risk factor. To achieve lipid targets patient adherence is a particularly important issue. Aim: To assess adherence and persistence to statin therapy in patients with atherosclerotic disease who participated in the MULTI Goal Attainment Problem 2013 (MULTI GAP 2013) study. Patient adherence was assessed using estimation by the physicians in charge and analysis of pick up rate of prescribed statins in 319 patients based on data of National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary. Method: In the MULTI GAP 2013 study, data from standard and structured questionnaires of 1519 patients were processed. Serum lipid values of patients treated by different healthcare professionals (general practitioners, cardiologists, diabetologists, neurologists, and internists), treatment adherence of patients assessed by doctors and treatment adherence based on data of National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary were analysed. Satisfaction of doctors with results of statin therapy and the relationship between the level of adherence and serum lipid values were also evaluated. Results: Considering the last seven years of survey data, the use of more effective statins became more prevalent with an about 70% increase of prescriptions of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin from 49% to 83%. Patients with LDL-cholesterol level below 2.5 mmol/l had 8 prescriptions per year. In contrast, patients who had LDL-cholesterol levels above 2.5 mmol/l had only 5.3–6.3 prescriptions per year. Patients who picked up their statins 10–12 or 7–9 times per year had significantly lower LDL-cholesterol level than those who had no or 1–3 pick up. The 100% persistence assessed by doctors was significantly lower (74%) based on data from the National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary. About half of the patients were considered to display 100% adherence to lipid-lowering therapy by their doctors, while data from the National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary showed only 36%. In patients with better adherence (90–100%) LDL-cholesterol levels below 2.5 mmol/l were more frequent (59.5%) compared to those with worse adherence. Satisfaction of doctors with lipid targets achieved was 69–80% in patients with total cholesterol between 4.5 and 6 mmol/l, and satisfaction with higher cholesterol values was also high (53–54%). Conclusions: The results show that doctors may overestimate patient adherence to lipid-lowering treatment. Based on data from the National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary, satisfaction of doctors with high lipid level appears to be high. There is a need to optimize not only patient adherence, but adherence of doctors to lipid guidelines too.


Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam H de Havenon ◽  
Tanya Turan ◽  
Rebecca Gottesman ◽  
Sharon Yeatts ◽  
Shyam Prabhakaran ◽  
...  

Introduction: While retrospective studies have shown that poor control of vascular risk factors is associated with progression of white matter hyperintensity (WMH), it has not been studied prospectively. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) mean, LDL cholesterol, and Hgb A1c will be correlated with WMH progression in diabetics. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the Memory in Diabetes (MIND) substudy of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Follow-on Study (ACCORDION). The primary outcome was WMH progression, evaluated by fitting linear regression models to the WMH volume on the month 80 MRI and adjusting for the WMH volume on the baseline MRI. The primary predictors were the mean values of SBP, LDL, and A1c from baseline to month 80. We defined a good vascular risk factor profile as mean SBP <120 mm Hg and mean LDL <120 mg/dL. Results: We included 292 patients, with a mean (SD) age of 62.6 (5.3) years and 55.8% male. The mean number of SBP, LDL, and A1c measurements per patient was 17, 5, and 12. We identified 86 (29.4%) patients with good vascular risk factor profile. In the linear regression models, mean SBP and LDL were associated with WMH progression and in a second fully adjusted model they both remained associated with WMH progression (Table). Those with a good vascular risk factor profile had less WMH progression (β Coefficient -0.80, 95% CI -1.42, -0.18, p=0.012). Conclusions: Our data reinforce prior research showing that higher SBP and LDL is associated with progression of WMH in diabetics, likely secondary to chronic microvascular ischemia, and suggest that control of these factors may have protective effects. This study has unique strengths, including prospective serial measurement of the exposures, validated algorithmic measurement methodology for WMH, and rigorous adjudication of study data. Clinical trials are needed to investigate the effect of vascular risk factor reduction on WMH progression.


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