Abstract
Background and aims
Clinical trials have shown that intensive low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering improves cardiovascular outcomes among patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), but data are limited in real clinical practice, particularly for patients with ASCVD informing different territories.
Methods
FRENA was a prospective registry of consecutive outpatients with coronary, cerebrovascular or peripheral artery disease. We compared the incidence of recurrent events in patients with sustained LDL-C levels <70 mg/dl compared with those with ≥70 mg/dl.
Results
As of December 2018, 1182 patients were eligible for this study. Among them, 172 (14.5%) had mean LDL-C levels ≤70 mg/dl, and 1010 (85.5%) had <70 mg/dl. Their clinical characteristics at baseline were similar. During 5 years of follow-up, 252 patients (21%) suffered major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The incidence rates of MACE were 3.42 events per 100 patient-years (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 2.17–5.14) in patients with levels <70 mg/dl and 5.57 (95% CI, 4.87–6.34) in those with ≥70 mg/dl; the rate ratio was 0.61 (95% CI, 0.39–0.92), p = 0.019. On multivariable analysis, patients with LDL-C levels <70 mg/dl were at lower risk for MACE (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.61 [95% CI, 0.39–0.93] p < 0.05). MACE reduction was driven by a decrease in coronary and peripheral events with no significant effect on stroke.
Conclusions
Long-term sustained LDL-C <70 mg/dl in the clinical practice is associated with reduction in cardiovascular and peripheral vascular events with no apparent effect on stroke.
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