Suboptimal lipid lowering therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention and impact on 1 year outcomes: data from a large contemporary PCI registry

Abstract Background Myocardial revascularisation by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is an effective method for symptom relief in obstructive coronary artery disease on top of pharmacological therapy. In patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), revascularization also leads to improved prognosis. However, patients who underwent PCI are still at high risk for future coronary events such as myocardial infarction, in-stent restenosis or development of new lesions at other locations. According to the current ESC guidelines every patient undergoing PCI should receive at least high-intensity statin therapy to achieve low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target values and to prevent future coronary events. The Zuid-Oost Netherlands Heart Registry (ZON-HR) is an ongoing, multicentre, prospective registry designed to improve secondary prevention after PCI. Purpose To describe differences in lipid lowering therapy after PCI and the influence on major adverse cardiovascular and cerebral events (MACCE) one year after PCI. Methods Since November 2020 data from all patients who underwent PCI in one of the four ZON-HR hospitals were included. Patients with known lipid lowering medication at discharge and 1 year follow-up were selected (N=4272). Patient characteristics, lipid lowering medication at discharge and 1 year follow-up regarding complications were collected. Cross tables and logistic regressions were used to observe baseline differences between patients with and without lipid lowering therapy (LLT) at discharge. A cox regression survival analysis with adjustments for baseline differences was performed to look at differences in MACCE after one year in patients with and without LLT after discharge. Results In 11.9% of the patients LLT was not part of the discharge medication. Patients without LLT were older and had more often chronic coronary syndrome (71.3 ± 10.7 vs 67.6 ± 10.9 and 63.2% vs 43.1%, respectively)(table 1). After one year, MACCE had occurred more often in patients without LLT at discharge after adjustment for baseline differences (HR: 1.51, 95% CI 1.15-1.98) (figure 1). In an additional analysis with only ACS patients even a higher occurrence of MACCE was observed in patients without LLT at discharge (HR: 1.97, 95%CI 1.41-2.76). Conclusion In real-world practice, suboptimal cholesterol management is frequently observed and leads to a higher occurrence of MACCE one year post PCI. Almost 12% of the patients did not have any LLT after PCI. Patients with ACS indication for PCI without LLT after PCI even had worse outcome regarding MACCE after 1 year. More attention should be paid regarding cholesterol management after PCI in order to prevent future coronary events.Baseline differencesMACCE and lipid lowering medication