This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Most patients fail to receive high-potency statins after ACS
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Researchers examined data from a large, multinational, contemporary, randomized trial with patients who experienced ACS and found that most were not treated with a high-potency statin regimen after ACS.
This was noted both early and late after the event and despite the prevalent use of statins after ACS.
Alon Eisen, MD, from the cardiovascular division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and colleagues assessed patient characteristics related to nonuse of a high-potency statin regimen using data from the SOLID-TIMI 52 trial. The trial enrolled 12,446 patients after an ACS from 36 countries between 2009 and 2011. In the patient population, 95.2% (n = 11,850) were prescribed a statin at baseline after ACS. Of those patients, 41.9% (n = 5,212) were prescribed a high-potency statin.
High-potency statins were defined as: ≥ 40 mg atorvastatin, ≥ 20 mg rosuvastatin or 80 mg simvastatin daily.
Certain patient characteristics were linked to nonuse of high-potency statins: age at least 75 years (OR = 1.39, 95% CI, 1.24-1.56), female sex (OR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.02-1.22), renal dysfunction (OR = 1.17; 95% CI 1.03-1.32) and in-hospital HF (OR = 1.43; 95% CI, 1.27-1.62).
“Notably, many of the patient characteristics that were associated with failure to administer a high-potency statin were features that, paradoxically, are often associated with higher patient risk including older age, renal dysfunction and [HF]. In addition, both female sex and nonwhite race were associated with the absence of high-potency statin use, even after adjusting for age and relevant comorbidities. This study highlights the need to intensify the educational process of physicians, both in hospitals and in the community, who are treating patients during and after ACS. It demonstrates that the crossover between use and nonuse of high-potency statins over time is very low and emphasizes the importance of treatment with high-potency statins during the initial hospitalization for ACS,” Eisen and colleagues wrote. – by Suzanne Reist
Disclosure: Eisen reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of the other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts