Cardiovascular Lipid Risk Factors and Rate of Cardiovascular Events After Myocardial Revascularization

Abstract Background: Coronary heart disease is a public health problem, and the leading cause of premature death in Europe and worldwide. There is epidemiological evidence that the control of cardiovascular risk factors following myocardial revascularization remains suboptimal. Objectives: Analyze the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients receiving secondary prevention therapies after myocardial revascularization. Methods: Single-center study on consecutive coronary patients retrospectively identified, conducted at the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Timisoara, Romania. Patients with diagnosis of revascularization for coronary artery disease (percutaneous coronary intervention, PCI or coronary artery bypass grafting, CABG) were included, following the inclusion criteria of the EuroAspire IV study. Outcome measures were assessed at three time points- at T0, when myocardial revascularization was performed; at T1 (interview with patients who had undergone revascularization for more than 6 months and less than 5 years), and T2 (interview with patients who had undergone revascularization for more than 5 years). Associations of primary and secondary lipid targets with the rates of adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were assessed at T2. Results: Of 375 coronary patients, 341 were included in the study. At T1, 5% and 34.9% of patients reached the LDL-c and non-HDL-c target respectively. MACE rate at T2 was 7.9% in a median of 4.33 years of follow-up. We found a positive, statically significant association between MACE rate and LDL-c at T1 (p = 0.039). There were significant differences in mean non-HDLc levels between MACE categories at T1 (p = 0.02). There was a significant association between mean non-HDL with the incidence of heart failure (p = 0.007), newly diagnosed diabetes (p = 0.017) and restenosis rate (p = 0.004). Conclusion: The study highlights the need to control lipid risk factors after myocardial revascularization procedures, even at long-term, to minimize the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with coronary diseases.