Changes in lipid lowering therapy one year after percutaneous coronary intervention: data from the large contemporary ZON-HR registry

Abstract Background Patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) should receive at least high-intensity statin therapy according to current ESC guidelines to prevent ischemic events. However, previous studies have shown that about 80% of the patients using high-intensity statin monotherapy are not reaching the low density lipoprotein- cholesterol (LDL-C) target value of below 1.4 mmol/L. This means that additional lipid lowering therapy is necessary in most patients. The ‘Zuid-Oost Netherlands Heart Registry’ (ZON-HR) is a multicentre, prospective registry designed to improve secondary prevention after PCI by a patient-tailored approach. Purpose To describe changes in lipid lowering therapy one year after PCI in the ZON-HR. Methods Since November 2020 data from all patients who underwent PCI in one of the four participating ZON-HR hospitals were included. In 4811 patients one year follow-up was completed. Patients with known discharge medication and medication at one year after PCI were included in the analyses (n=3487). Combination therapy was defined as having at least two different lipid lowering medications prescribed. The association between predefined variables and combination therapy at one year post PCI was assessed with multivariable logistic regression to adjust for baseline differences. Results The mean age of the patients was 67.7 ± 10.7 years, 72.4% was male and the baseline LDL-C value was 2.7 ± 1.1 mmol/L. While patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) had higher LDL-C values at baseline, they received combination of lipid lowering therapy at discharge less often compared to patients with a chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) (7.9% vs 11.5%, p<0.001) (table 1). After one year, both ACS and CCS patients were treated more often with combination therapy (20.1% vs 23.3%, p=0.047). However, still only about 20% of the patients were receiving combination therapy one year after PCI. In the ACS population, younger patients with higher LDL-C values at baseline and previous myocardial infarction had a higher chance of receiving combination lipid lowering therapy one year after PCI (table 2). Conclusion Additional lipid lowering medication is needed, besides high-intensity statins, in order to reach the strict LDL-C target values in very high risk patients. However, the step-up from mono- to combination lipid lowering therapy only occurs in about 10% of the patients. Lipid lowering combination therapy is prescribed more often in CCS patients compared to ACS patients, both at discharge and one year after PCI.Baseline values and combination therapyPredictors combination therapy at 1 year