A pair of new studies in The Lancet found that the effects of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) lowering agents reduced the number of serious cardiovascular events in geriatric patients.
Taking data on over 90 000 individuals in Denmark, an observational study followed patients for 7.7 years, with LDL cholesterol levels as well as first heart attacks or strokes recorded.
The researchers found that people aged 70-100 without a previous cardiovascular event benefited more from taking cholesterol-lowering medications in terms of preventable cardiovascular events.
People aged 80-100 had the highest incidence of heart attacks, at 8.5 per 1000 person-years.
Børge Nordestgaard, joint author of the first study, of the Copenhagen University Hospital, said, “Our study provides further evidence for the cumulative burden of LDL cholesterol over a person’s lifetime and the progressive increase in risk for heart attack and cardiovascular disease with age. With the proportion of people living beyond 70 years of age worldwide rapidly increasing, these data point to the huge potential for primary prevention strategies aimed at lowering LDL cholesterol levels to reduce the population burden of heart disease. The findings should guide decision making about whether older individuals will benefit from statin therapy.”
A separate review and meta-analysis revealed that cholesterol-lowering therapies are as effective as preventing heart attacks in older patients as they are in younger ones. Analysing data from 29 randomised controlled trials, they found that for every reduction of 1mmol/L of HDL cholesterol, the relative risk of major cardiovascular events in patients over 75 years was reduced by 26%. For patients under 75 years, the reduction was 15% per 1mmol/L of HDL-cholesterol.
Source: HCP Live
