BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) measurement of <70 mg/dL as a reasonable goal in high-risk patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) or atherosclerotic vascular disease (AVD). METHODS: This retrospective, cross-sectional study examined LDL-C goal attainment monthly trends from January 1, 2004, to August 31, 2008, in a large, managed-care claims database in the United States. High-risk CHD or AVD patients who had at least one LDL-C test during that time period were included (N = 284,915). Average LDL-C values and percent of patients not achieving LDL-C goal (LDL-C ≥70 mg/dL) were obtained by averaging patient level LDL-C values for each month. A linear trend analysis with first-order autocorrelated errors was conducted. RESULTS: The proportion of patients treated with lipid-lowering therapy gradually increased from 58.5% in 2004 to 70.5% in 2008. Mean LDL-C values in patients treated with lipid-lowering therapy decreased from 100.4 to 96.4 mg/dL, whereas LDL-C remained relatively constant in untreated patients (114.3 mg/dL). In treated patients, the percentage with LDL-C ≥70 mg/dL decreased from 87.5% in January 2004 to 73.8% in December 2006 (P < .0001), then gradually declined between January 2007 (79.6%) and August 2008 (76.2%; P < .0001). Among untreated patients, 92.9% had LDL-C levels ≥70 mg/dL in January 2004 and 93.0% in August 2008. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the percentage of high-risk patients with CHD or AVD treated with lipid-lowering therapy who achieve LDL-C <70 mg/dL levels has increased since 2004, although a large proportion of these patients still do not meet this goal. Additionally, 1 of 4 high-risk patients otherwise eligible for lipid-lowering therapy remains untreated. These data suggest the need for renewed efforts to support guideline-based LDL-C lowering in high-risk patients.
BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) measurement of <70 mg/dL as a reasonable goal in high-risk patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) or atherosclerotic vascular disease (AVD). METHODS: This retrospective, cross-sectional study examined LDL-C goal attainment monthly trends from January 1, 2004, to August 31, 2008, in a large, managed-care claims database in the United States. High-risk CHD or AVD patients who had at least one LDL-C test during that time period were included (N = 284,915). Average LDL-C values and percent of patients not achieving LDL-C goal (LDL-C ≥70 mg/dL) were obtained by averaging patient level LDL-C values for each month. A linear trend analysis with first-order autocorrelated errors was conducted. RESULTS: The proportion of patients treated with lipid-lowering therapy gradually increased from 58.5% in 2004 to 70.5% in 2008. Mean LDL-C values in patients treated with lipid-lowering therapy decreased from 100.4 to 96.4 mg/dL, whereas LDL-C remained relatively constant in untreated patients (114.3 mg/dL). In treated patients, the percentage with LDL-C ≥70 mg/dL decreased from 87.5% in January 2004 to 73.8% in December 2006 (P < .0001), then gradually declined between January 2007 (79.6%) and August 2008 (76.2%; P < .0001). Among untreated patients, 92.9% had LDL-C levels ≥70 mg/dL in January 2004 and 93.0% in August 2008. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the percentage of high-risk patients with CHD or AVD treated with lipid-lowering therapy who achieve LDL-C <70 mg/dL levels has increased since 2004, although a large proportion of these patients still do not meet this goal. Additionally, 1 of 4 high-risk patients otherwise eligible for lipid-lowering therapy remains untreated. These data suggest the need for renewed efforts to support guideline-based LDL-C lowering in high-risk patients.
Authors: Kevin Fitzgerald; Maria Frank-Kamenetsky; Svetlana Shulga-Morskaya; Abigail Liebow; Brian R Bettencourt; Jessica E Sutherland; Renta M Hutabarat; Valerie A Clausen; Verena Karsten; Jeffrey Cehelsky; Saraswathy V Nochur; Victor Kotelianski; Jay Horton; Timothy Mant; Joseph Chiesa; James Ritter; Malathy Munisamy; Akshay K Vaishnaw; Jared A Gollob; Amy Simon Journal: Lancet Date: 2013-10-03 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: Elizabeth Marrett; Changgeng Zhao; Ning Jackie Zhang; Qiaoyi Zhang; Dena R Ramey; Joanne E Tomassini; Andrew M Tershakovec; David R Neff Journal: Vasc Health Risk Manag Date: 2014-04-25
Authors: Ngoc-Anh Le; Joanne E Tomassini; Andrew M Tershakovec; David R Neff; Peter W F Wilson Journal: J Am Heart Assoc Date: 2015-10-20 Impact factor: 5.501
Authors: JoAnne M Foody; Peter P Toth; Joanne E Tomassini; Shiva Sajjan; Dena R Ramey; David Neff; Andrew M Tershakovec; Henry Hu; Kaan Tunceli Journal: Vasc Health Risk Manag Date: 2013-11-15