Prognostic Impact of Statin Intensity in Heart Failure Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease: A Report From the CHART‐2 (Chronic Heart Failure Registry and Analysis in the Tohoku District 2) Study

BACKGROUND: The beneficial prognostic impact of statins has been established in patients with ischemic heart disease but not in those with heart failure (HF). In addition, it is still unclear whether patients benefit from statins regardless of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined 2444 consecutive stage C or D HF patients with ischemic heart disease registered in CHART‐2 (Chronic Heart Failure Registry and Analysis in the Tohoku District 2), a multicenter, prospective, observational cohort study in Japan. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the Japanese standard doses of statins and statin‐intensity categories defined by the 2013 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guidelines: higher (moderate‐high)‐intensity (n=868), lower (low)‐intensity (n=526), and no statin (n=1050). The median follow‐up period was 6.4 years (13929 person‐years). Analysis with the inverse probability of treatment weighted using a propensity score for multiple treatment revealed that both the higher‐intesity group (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.68; P<0.001) and the lower‐intensity group (HR: 0.82; P<0.001) had significantly lower incidence of the primary end point—a composite of all‐cause death and HF admission—compared with the no statin group. The higher‐intensity statin group had significantly lower incidence of the primary end point (HR: 0.82; P<0.001), all‐cause death (HR: 0.83; P<0.001), and HF admission (HR: 0.78; P<0.001) than the lower‐intensity statin group. Moreover, the use of statins, either higher‐ or lower‐intensity, was associated with reduced incidence of the primary end point, regardless of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that statin use, particularly the use of higher‐intensity statins, has a beneficial prognostic impact in HF patients with ischemic heart disease, regardless of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00418041.