BACKGROUND There is insufficient evidence regarding the effect of high-intensity statin therapy in older adults. This study aimed to investigate the effects of high-intensity statin treatment on the clinical outcomes in older adults with myocardial infarction (MI).
METHODS Consecutive patients with MI aged at least 75 years were analyzed retrospectively. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), defined as a composite of all-cause death, MI, rehospitalization due to unstable angina, repeat revascularization, and ischemic stroke. The high-intensity group was compared to the low-to-moderate intensity group in the propensity score-matched cohort.
RESULTS Average age of total 546 patients was 81 years. Among them, 84% of patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention. The unadjusted seven-year MACCE rate differed by statin intensity (high-intensity statin group: 38%, moderate-intensity statin group: 42%, low-intensity statin group: 56%, and no-statin group: 61%, P = 0.004). However, among these groups, many baseline characteristics were significantly different. Among the 74 propensity score-matched pairs, which lacked any significant differences in all baseline characteristics, the high-intensity group had a significantly lower rate of MACCE than the low-to-moderate intensity group (37% vs. 53%, P = 0.047). Follow-up low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly lower in the high-intensity group than that in the low-to-moderate intensity group (69.4 ± 16.0 mg/dL vs. 77.9 ± 25.9 mg/dL, P = 0.026).
CONCLUSIONS In older adult patients with MI, the use of high-intensity statin caused significantly less occurrence of MACCE in comparison to that in low-to-moderate intensity for up to seven years of follow-up.
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