Prevalence of lipid abnormalities and cholesterol target value attainment in patients with stable coronary heart disease or an acute coronary syndrome in Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of the extent of hyperlipidemia in very high-risk patients, and how lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) is used in a real-world setting. METHODS: In this multicenter observational study, data were collected from LLT-treated patients with stable CHD or an ACS in Saudi Arabia between 2013 and 2014. Individuals were included if they were >18 years and had a full lipid profile available, recorded either prior to the baseline physician visit (CHD patients) or within 24-hours of admission to hospital (ACS patients). RESULTS: A total of 737 patients were included in the study, 597 with stable CHD and 140 with ACS. Few patients in either group had an LDL-C level of <70 mg/dl, which is advocated for very high-risk patients (24.3% and 11.4%, respectively). The median distances to this value were 19.0 mg/dl (CHD) and 25.0 mg/dl (ACS). Low doses of statins were being utilized (31 and 24 mg/day for CHD and ACS, respectively), with only minimal intensification for the ACS patients after hospital admission (41 mg/day at follow-up). CONCLUSIONS: Achievement of recommended LDL-C levels was poor for patients with stable CHD or an ACS. Statin intensity was low, indicating huge scope for intensifying the treatment of these very high-risk patients.