Low Remnant Cholesterol and In-Hospital Bleeding Risk After Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack

Bleeding risk brought by intensive lipid-lowering therapy and low low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is concerning, while evidence regarding the relationship between remnant cholesterol and bleeding is frightening. This study aimed to investigate the association between remnant cholesterol at admission and an in-hospital bleeding event after acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA).

A total of 3222 eligible patients admitted to Shanghai Huashan Hospital between 2015 and 2021 with complete lipid data were analyzed. Patients were classified into low (<20.0 mg/dL), moderate (20.0-29.9 mg/dL), and high (≥30 mg/dL) groups by remnant cholesterol. The mean age of patients was 63.0± 13.1 years, including 2301 (71.4%) men and 651 (20.2%) with TIA. The median (interquartile range) of remnant cholesterol was 18.6 (13.5-25.9) mg/dL. After adjustment for confounding variables, patients with low remnant cholesterol had a higher risk of bleeding events (odds ratio, 2.56 [95% CI, 1.12-6.67]) than those with moderate remnant cholesterol. The high remnant cholesterol group was not significantly associated with bleeding risk. Combined assessment of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and remnant cholesterol further identified patients with the highest risk of bleeding events.

Low remnant cholesterol levels were associated with bleeding events during the acute stage of ischemic stroke and TIA. The assessment of remnant cholesterol could inform the bleeding risk during hospitalization both for patients and physicians in clinical practice.