Low rates of both lipid-lowering therapy use and achievement of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol targets in individuals at high-risk for cardiovascular disease across Europe

PLoS One. 2015 Feb 18;10(2):e0115270. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115270. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Aims: To analyse the treatment and control of dyslipidaemia in patients at high and very high cardiovascular risk being treated for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Europe.

Methods and results: Data were assessed from the European Study on Cardiovascular Risk Prevention and Management in Usual Daily Practice (EURIKA, ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00882336), which included a randomly sampled population of primary CVD prevention patients from 12 European countries (n = 7641). Patients' 10-year risk of CVD-related mortality was calculated using the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) algorithm, identifying 5019 patients at high cardiovascular risk (SCORE ≥5% and/or receiving lipid-lowering therapy), and 2970 patients at very high cardiovascular risk (SCORE ≥10% or with diabetes mellitus). Among high-risk individuals, 65.3% were receiving lipid-lowering therapy, and 61.3% of treated patients had uncontrolled low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (≥2.5 mmol/L). For very-high-risk patients (uncontrolled LDL-C levels defined as ≥1.8 mmol/L) these figures were 49.5% and 82.9%, respectively. Excess 10-year risk of CVD-related mortality (according to SCORE) attributable to lack of control of dyslipidaemia was estimated to be 0.72% and 1.61% among high-risk and very-high-risk patients, respectively. Among high-risk individuals with uncontrolled LDL-C levels, only 8.7% were receiving a high-intensity statin (atorvastatin ≥40 mg/day or rosuvastatin ≥20 mg/day). Among very-high-risk patients, this figure was 8.4%.

Conclusions: There is a considerable opportunity for improvement in rates of lipid-lowering therapy use and achievement of lipid-level targets in high-risk and very-high-risk patients being treated for primary CVD prevention in Europe.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / etiology
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / prevention & control
  • Cholesterol, LDL / blood*
  • Dyslipidemias / blood*
  • Dyslipidemias / complications
  • Dyslipidemias / drug therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
  • Hypolipidemic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Risk Factors
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Cholesterol, LDL
  • Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
  • Hypolipidemic Agents

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00882336

Grants and funding

The EURIKA study was funded by AstraZeneca. The study was run by an independent academic steering committee, which worked under rules agreed a priori that allowed intellectual input of the funder (i.e. the funder contributed ideas to the study design, data analysis and preparation of the manuscript) while granting the executive and decision making role to the committee. The authors had full access to all data and had final responsibility for the contents of the manuscript and the decision to submit it for publication. Writing support was provided by Oxford PharmaGenesis Ltd, Oxford, UK, and was funded by AstraZeneca.