scholarly journals Lipid Goal Attainment and Prescription Behavior in Asian Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes: Experience from a Tertiary Hospital

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. CMC.S11488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin W Chin ◽  
F Gao ◽  
TT Le ◽  
RS Tan

Lipid goal attainment studies in Asian patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are limited. The objectives of this study were to determine low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal attainment rate at 4 months, and to examine prescription behavior influencing lipid goal attainment in Asian patients with ACS. A retrospective analysis of 267 patients with ACS was performed. The mean follow-up duration was 41.2 ± 10.7 months. LDL-C goal attainment rate was highest at 4 months (36.7%) but declined progressively throughout follow-up. More than 85% of patients were discharged with equipotent statin dose of 2 (equivalent to simvastatin 20 mg) or less. In patients who did not attain LDL-C goals, the statin dose remained low throughout follow-up because of a lack in responsive dose titration. Aggressive lipid-lowering therapy should be initiated early to improve goal attainment in these high-risk patients.

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 548-555
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Arashi ◽  
Junichi Yamaguchi ◽  
Erisa Kawada-Watanabe ◽  
Hisao Otsuki ◽  
Haruki Sekiguchi ◽  
...  

Background: Controversy remains regarding the influence of lipid-lowering therapy on the eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratio. Objective: This study aimed to clarify the effects of lipid-lowering therapy on the eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratio in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: This was a post hoc sub-analysis of the Heart Institute of Japan-PRoper level of lipid-lowering with pitavastatin and ezetimibe in ACS study. We compared the eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratio changes from baseline to the 3-month follow-up after contemporary lipid-lowering therapy with pitavastatin + ezetimibe therapy and pitavastatin mono-therapy. Results: Among patients with ACS and dyslipidemia, the eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid increased significantly in the pitavastatin mono-therapy group (0.40 ± 0.26 to 0.46 ± 0.34, P < .0001) but did not increase in the pitavastatin + ezetimibe group (0.37 ± 0.22 to 0.38 ± 0.27, P = .18). When the analysis was limited to patients who received 2 mg/day of pitavastatin during the follow-up period, these trends in changes of the eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratio remained unchanged. Multivariate analysis showed that ezetimibe use ( P = .005; β = 0.09), ST-elevation myocardial infarction ( P = .04; β = −0.01), and baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level ( P = .0003; β = 0.12) were independent predictors of the percentage change in the eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratio. These trends were similar even when the analysis was limited to patients who did not take statins at enrollment. Conclusion: Standard lipid-lowering therapy with pitavastatin mono-therapy improved the eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratio for patients with ACS. Intensive lipid-lowering therapy with pitavastatin + ezetimibe did not improve the eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratio, although LDL-C decreased significantly. Inhibition of the improvement in the eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratio by adding ezetimibe may affect cardiovascular disease prognosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohan Xu ◽  
Meng Chai ◽  
Yujing Cheng ◽  
Pingan Peng ◽  
Xiaoli Liu ◽  
...  

Aims: To explore early intensive lipid-lowering therapy in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). Background: Lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels can reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Due to many reasons, the need for early intensive lipid-lowering therapy is far from being met in Chinese NSTE-ACS patients at high-risk of recurrent ischaemic events. Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of starting evolocumab in hospital to lower LDL-C levels in Chinese patients with NSTE-ACS. Methods: In this prospective cohort study initiated by researchers, 334 consecutive patients with NSTE-ACS who had sub-standard LDL-C levels (LDL-C ≥2.3 mmol/L after regular oral statin treatment for at least 4 weeks; or LDL-C ≥3.2 mmol/L without regular oral statin treatment) were included. Patients who agreed to treatment with evolocumab (140 mg subcutaneously every 2 weeks, initiated in hospital and used for 12 weeks after discharge) were enrolled in the evolocumab group (n=96) and others in the control group (n=238). All enrolled patients received regular statin treatment (atorvastatin 20 mg/day or rosuvastatin 10 mg/day; doses unchanged throughout the study).The primary endpoint was the change in LDL-C levels from baseline to week 12. Results: Most patients (67.1%) had not received regular statin treatment before. In the evolocumab group, LDL-C levels decreased significantly at week 4 and remained stable at week 8 and 12 (all p<0.001). At week 12, the LDL-C percentage change from baseline in the evolocumab group was -79.2±12.7% (from an average of 3.7 to 0.7 mmol/L), while in the control group it was -37.4±15.4% (from an average of 3.3 to 2.0 mmol/L). The mean difference between these 2 groups was -41.8% (95% CI -45.0 to -38.5%; p<0.001). At week 12, the proportions of patients with LDL-C levels <1.8 mmol/L and 1.4 mmol/L in the evolocumab group were significantly higher than in the control group (96.8 vs 36.1%; 90.6 vs 7.1%; both p<0.001). The incidence of adverse events and cardiovascular events was similar in both groups. Conclusions: In this prospective cohort study we evaluated the early initiation of evolocumab in NSTE-ACS patients in China. Evolocumab combined with statins significantly lowered LDL-C levels and increased the probability of achieving recommended LDL-C levels, with satisfactory safety and well tolerance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 781-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong Euy Park ◽  
Chern-En Chiang ◽  
Muhammad Munawar ◽  
Gia Khai Pham ◽  
Apichard Sukonthasarn ◽  
...  

Background: Treatment of hypercholesterolaemia in Asia is rarely evaluated on a large scale, and data on treatment outcome are scarce. The Pan-Asian CEPHEUS study aimed to assess low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal attainment among patients on lipid-lowering therapy. Methods: This survey was conducted in eight Asian countries. Hypercholesterolaemic patients aged ≥18 years who had been on lipid-lowering treatment for ≥3 months (stable medication for ≥6 weeks) were recruited, and lipid concentrations were measured. Demographic and other clinically relevant information were collected, and the cardiovascular risk of each patient was determined. Definitions and criteria set by the updated 2004 National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines were applied. Results: In this survey, 501 physicians enrolled 8064 patients, of whom 7281 were included in the final analysis. The mean age was 61.0 years, 44.4% were female, and 85.1% were on statin monotherapy. LDL-C goal attainment was reported in 49.1% of patients overall, including 51.2% of primary and 48.7% of secondary prevention patients, and 36.6% of patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia. The LDL-C goal was attained in 75.4% of moderate risk, 55.4% of high risk, and only 34.9% of very high-risk patients. Goal attainment was directly related to age and inversely related to cardiovascular risk and baseline LDL-C. Conclusion: A large proportion of Asian hypercholesterolaemic patients on lipid-lowering drugs are not at recommended LDL-C levels and remain at risk for cardiovascular disease. Given the proven efficacy of lipid-lowering drugs in the reduction of LDL-C, there is room for further optimization of treatments to maximize benefits and improve outcomes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B P Y Yan ◽  
C K Y Chan ◽  
W H S Lai ◽  
O T L To

Abstract Background Guidelines recommend intensive low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering in high cardiovascular (CV) risk patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), stroke and critical limb ischemia (CLI). Purpose We evaluated LDL-C goal attainment and lipid-lowering treatment (LLT) in a Chinese population with ACS, stroke and CLI patients. Methods We retrospectively evaluated consecutive high CV risk patients discharged between 2013 and 2017 from 3 hospitals in Hong Kong. Lipid profile and LLT were compared among 3 patient groups: ACS, Stroke and CLI. Results Of 10,168 high-CV risk patients (mean age 70.6±13.7 years; 62.4% male), 64.0% were ACS, 33.6% stroke and 2.5% CLI. Between baseline and 12-month, mean LDL-C reduced from 2.7±1.1 to 2.0±0.8 mmol/L in ACS patients, 2.7±1.0 to 2.0±0.7 mmol/L in stroke patients and 2.5±1.0 to 2.2±0.9 mmol/L in CLI patients (p<0.01). Proportion of CLI patients (29.9%) who achieved target LDL-C <1.8mmol/L at month 12 was significantly lower than stroke (45.6%) and ACS (48.2%) patients (p<0.01). The mean residual distance to target LDL-C was greatest in CLI (0.8±0.8 mmol/L) compared to stroke (0.6±0.6 mmol/L) and ACS (0.7±0.7 mmol/L) patients (p<0.01). Use of statin therapy on discharge was highest in ACS (88.4%) compared to stroke (78.3%) and CLI (52.6%) patients (p<0.01). But use of high-potency statin (rosuvastatin ≥20mg, atorvastatin ≥40mg or simvastatin ≥80mg) on discharge was very low in stroke (3.0%) and CLI (2.0%) compared to ACS (21.4%, p<0.01) patients. At 12 months 28.8% ACS, 34.3% stroke and 51.4% CLI patients were on no LLT (p<0.01) and the use of high-potency statin did not change significantly (3.0% in stroke, p=0.99; and 1.2% in CLI, p=0.48). Despite the poor achievement in LDL-C target in CLI patients, the proportion of CLI patients switching to high-potency statin (0.8%) was significantly lower than stroke (1.3%) and ACS (5.2%) patients (p<0.01). Conclusion This study demonstrated significant therapeutic gaps in lipid-lowering management in high CV risk patients. In particular, CLI patients were less aggressively treated with LLT and hence larger proportion of patient not achieving LDL-C target compared to ACS and stroke patients.


2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy A Lauderdale ◽  
Amy Heck Sheehan

OBJECTIVE: To describe current data evaluating the use of intensive lipid-lowering therapy in patients with coronary heart disease. DATA SOURCES: A literature search using MEDLINE (1966–September 2004) was conducted using the search terms lipoproteins, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, coronary arteriosclerosis, and coronary disease to identify published trials comparing the effects of intensive and conventional lipid-lowering therapy. DATA SYNTHESIS: Intensive lipid-lowering therapy reduces LDL-C levels significantly more than conventional treatment and appears to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients who have recently experienced acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, evidence suggesting clinical benefits in patients with stable coronary heart disease is currently lacking. CONCLUSIONS: Although data are limited, patients with ACS may benefit from intensive lipid-lowering therapy. Several studies are underway to determine the appropriate role of intensive lipid-lowering therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 01-06
Author(s):  
Anatoly Langer

Background: We compared the use of lipid lowering therapy, low density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and proportion achieving guideline-recommended LDL-C levels in patients with private vs. public insurance coverage for their lipid lowering treatment. Materials and Methods: Guidelines Oriented Approach to Lipid lowering (GOAL) Canada enrolled 2009 patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) or heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and an LDL-C above the guideline-recommended target of <2.0 mmol/L despite maximally tolerated statin therapy. During two follow-up visits physicians received online reminders of treatment recommendations. Results: Of 2009 patients enrolled (median age 63 years, 42% female), there were 1284 (64%) patients with private and 725 (36%) with public insurance for lipid lowering therapy. Patients with private insurance were younger and less likely to have a history of heart failure or to be on bile acid sequestrants. There was no difference between the groups in their lipid levels or lipid lowering therapy at baseline. During the follow up, there was no difference in the use of ezetimibe; however, the use of PCSK9i was more frequent in patients with private insurance (31.7 % vs. 21%, p<0.0001), the mean LDL-C level was slightly lower (2.11±1.17 vs. 2.31±1.17 mmol/L, p = 0.001), and the proportion of patients achieving the guideline-recommended LDL-C level was greater (54% vs. 45.5%, p = 0.001). After adjustment for other factors in a multivariable model, private insurance was not a significant predictor of achieving the guideline-recommended LDL-C level in a multivariable model. Conclusion: While PCSK9i use was higher in patients with private insurance, the majority of patients with either private or public insurance experienced similar treatment inertia. The cost of non-generic medications does not appear to be the dominant reason for the continued care gap in lipid lowering of high-risk patients.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanos Zafeiropoulos ◽  
Ioannis Farmakis ◽  
Anastasios Kartas ◽  
Alexandra Arvanitaki ◽  
Konstantinos Arvanitakis ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims: Achieving the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a milestone often missed due to suboptimal adherence to secondary prevention treatments. Whether improved adherence could result in reduced LDL-C levels is unclear. We aimed to evaluate an educational-motivational intervention to increase long-term lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) adherence and LDL-C goal attainment rate among post-ACS patients.Methods: IDEAL-LDL was a parallel, two-arm, single-center, pragmatic, investigator-initiated randomized controlled trial. Hospitalized patients for ACS were randomized to a physician-led integrated intervention consisting of an educational session at baseline, followed by regular motivational interviewing phone sessions or usual care. Co-primary outcomes were the LLT adherence (measured by Proportion of Days Covered (PDC); good adherence defined as PDC>80%), and LDL-C goal (<70 mg/dl or 50% reduction from baseline) achievement rate at one year.Results: In total, 360 patients (mean age 62 years, 81% male) were randomized. Overall, good adherence was positively associated with LDL-C goal achievement rate at one year. Median PDC was higher in the intervention group than the control group [0.92 (IQR, 0.82–1.00) vs. 0.86 (0.62–0.98); p=0.03] while the intervention group had increased odds of good adherence (adjusted odds ratio: 1.76 (95% confidence interval 1.02 to 2.62; p=0.04). However, neither the rate of LDL-C goal achievement (49.6% in the intervention vs. 44.9% in the control group; p=0.49) nor clinical outcomes differed significantly between the two groups.Conclusion: Α multifaceted intervention improved LLT adherence in post-ACS patients without a significant difference in LDL-C goal attainment. (IDEAL-LDL, ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02927808)


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.


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