Primary Prevention

PARIS — Aspirin did not benefit older patients for the primary prevention of CVD, according to a new analysis from the ASPREE trial presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress.

Patient-education initiatives appear to be slightly better than interventions focusing only on physician education for increasing statin prescription rates, but the initiatives appear to be best when they provide personalized information, according to a systematic review published in JAMA Cardiology.

Researchers have determined that the decline of age-adjusted mortality due to heart disease is slowing, which may mean that the American Heart Association’s strategic goal of a 20% reduction by 2020 is becoming more unlikely.

In patients aged 75 years of age or older taking statins for primary CVD prevention, discontinuing statin therapy was associated with a 33% increased risk for hospital admission for a CV event, researchers reported.

The use of aspirin for primary prevention became a hot topic after the publication of three landmark trials in 2018, which clarified the role of low-dose aspirin in primary CVD prevention.

A relative paucity of evidence guiding the use of statin therapy in the primary prevention of atherosclerotic CVD events has led to disparate treatment strategies recommended by various medical associations.