Statin pretreatment and presentation patterns in patients with coronary artery disease
Insights
Pretreatment with statins reduces the likelihood of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) presentation in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), despite higher atherosclerotic burden.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Incomplete understanding of statin therapy's impact on coronary artery disease (CAD) presentation.
- Need to clarify how statin pretreatment influences patient outcomes at diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of statin pretreatment on the presentation patterns of patients diagnosed with CAD.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 12,989 consecutive CAD patients undergoing coronary angiography.
- Primary outcome: presentation as stable angina or acute coronary syndrome (ACS) based on statin use.
Main Results:
- Statin users (62.7%) showed significantly lower rates of ACS and STEMI compared to non-users.
- Statin therapy was an independent predictor of reduced ACS and STEMI presentation (adjusted OR < 0.39).
- Higher Gensini scores observed in statin users with stable angina or ACS.
Conclusions:
- Statin pretreatment is associated with a reduced likelihood of presenting with ACS and STEMI in CAD patients.
- Despite increased coronary atherosclerosis, statins appear protective against severe acute presentations.
- Findings highlight the importance of statin therapy in managing CAD patient trajectories.
Background:
Knowledge on the impact of pretreatment statin therapy on presentation of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of statin pretreatment on presentation patterns of patients with CAD.
Methods:
The study included 12,989 consecutive patients with CAD who underwent coronary angiography. The primary outcome was presentation as stable angina or acute coronary syndrome (ACS) according to statin pretreatment.
Results:
At the time of presentation, 8147 (62.7%) patients were receiving statins and 4842 (37.3%) patients were not receiving statins. Presentation pattern in patients receiving statins vs. those not receiving statins was: stable angina in 5939 (72.9%) vs. 2102 (43.4%) patients; odds ratio (OR) = 3.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.25-3.78; p < 0.001; unstable angina in 1435 (17.6%) vs. 1011 (20.9%) patients; OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.74-0.89; p < 0.001; non- -ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in 463 (5.7%) vs. 505 (10.4%) patients; OR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.45-0.59; p < 0.001; and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in 310 (3.8%) vs. 1224 (25.3%) patients; OR = 0.11, 95% CI 0.10-0.13; p < 0.001. Gensini score (median [25th to 75th percentiles]) was significantly higher in patients on statins presenting with stable angina (26.5 [13.0-59.5] vs. 21.0 [10.5-47.4]; p < 0.001) or ACS (39.3 [17.5-77.0] vs. 37.0 [18.0-64.0]; p = 0.001). In multivariable analysis, statin therapy was an independent correlate of reduced presentation with ACS (adjusted OR = 0.35 [0.32-0.39]; p < 0.001) or STEMI (adjusted OR = 0.18 [0.16-0.22]; p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Despite having a higher coronary atherosclerotic burden, patients with CAD on statin therapy have reduced odds for presentation with ACS and STEMI compared to patients not receiving statins.
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