Clinical outcomes according to residual cholesterol and inflammatory risk in patients undergoing PCI
Authors: Bay B , Tanner R , Oliva A , Sartori S , Vogel B , Gitto M , Smith K F , Sweeny J , Moreno P , Krishnamoorthy P , Krishnan P , Dangas G , Kini A , Sharma S , Mehran R 
Published: October 2024

Background

Elevated concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and low grade vascular inflammation, commonly quantified using high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), have been demonstrated to be causal in the development of atherosclerotic disease. Whilst recent large-scale trials have investigated the relative impact of LDL-c and inflammation on cardiovascular outcomes, there is a scarcity of data in real-world patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Purpose

To investigate the relative drivers of residual risk in patients with established statin treatment undergoing PCI in a contemporary large-scale cohort.

Methods

From January 2012 to February 2020 patients undergoing PCI at a tertiary center were included for current analysis. Patients were categorized into 4 subgroups according to different combinations of LDL-c and hsCRP concentrations at baseline: no residual cholesterol or inflammatory risk (LDL-c &lt;70 mg/dL + hsCRP &lt;2 mg/L), residual cholesterol risk (LDL-c ≥70 mg/dL + hsCRP &lt;2 mg/L), residual inflammatory risk (LDL-c &lt;70 mg/dL + hsCRP ≥2 mg/L), and combined residual cholesterol and inflammatory risk (LDL-c ≥70 mg/dL + hsCRP ≥2 mg/L). Individuals who presented with acute myocardial infarction, neoplastic disease and hsCRP concentrations &gt;10 mg/l were excluded. The outcome of interest was major adverse cardiac events (MACE - composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, or stroke). A univariable cox regression model was calculated.

Results

Overall, 10,845 patients were included. In total, 3,210 patients displayed neither cholesterol nor inflammatory risk and 3,059 individuals had elevated cholesterol risk only. In 1,839 patients an inflammatory risk was noted, whilst 2,737 patients presented with combined cholesterol and inflammatory risk. Kaplan-Meier curves for 1-year follow-up are displayed in Figure 1. Patients with residual inflammatory risk had the highest event rate of the composite endpoint (5.2%), followed by patients with combined residual risk (3.5%), individuals with residual cholesterol risk (2.3%) and persons with neither cholesterol nor inflammatory risk (2.4%; p&lt;0.0001 for log rank test across all groups). An association with MACE was solely documented for patients with residual inflammatory risk (HR: 2.09, 95% CI: 1.52 - 2.88; p&lt;.001), and also borderline significant for combined cholesterol and inflammatory risk (HR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.03 - 1.95; p=0.034), whilst this was not the case for patients with elevated cholesterol risk only (see Figure 2).

Conclusion

In a contemporary real-world cohort of statin treated patients undergoing PCI, inflammation irrespective of LDL-c concentrations was the driver for adverse cardiovascular outcomes. This data might be helpful to further define target populations for both intensified lipid-lowering as well as anti-inflammatory treatment approaches.