Real-world analysis reveals that majority of Americans at high risk of stroke and heart attack remain under-treated

According to a new study from the Family Heart Foundation, a research and advocacy organization, 72.2% of high-risk hypercholesterolemia patients never achieve the low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) thresholds recommended in the 2018 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol. This may be due to a lack of physician prescribing, insurance coverage and patient follow through, despite the known risk of cardiovascular disease.

Based on real-world data from an analysis of the Family Heart Database of more than 300 million Americans, the findings will be highlighted in a poster presentation at the American College of Cardiology 2023 conference on March 4, 2023 at 12:45 pm at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

"This study provides us with a clear view of the poor state of LDL cholesterol management for high-risk individuals in the United States," said Mary P. McGowan, M.D., chief medical officer, Family Heart Foundation, and co-author of the study. "Despite the availability of safe and effective lipid-lowering therapies, only 28% of high-risk patients ever reach below guideline LDL-C thresholds, which further elevates these patients' risks for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events, such as heart attacks and stroke."

Titled "72% of High-Risk Hypercholesterolemia Patients Never Reach Below ACC/AHA Guideline LDL-C Thresholds," the observational study assessed achievement of LDL-C below thresholds in 38,110,734 high-risk patients.

Additional key findings from the study show:

• Only 27.8% of all high-risk patients ever reached below-guideline LDL-C thresholds.
• For those with episodes below LDL-C thresholds, mean duration of each episode was 158.8 days.
• 79.5% of clinicians never prescribed combination cholesterol-lowering medications though the guideline provides direction and rational for doing so.
• Only 2.2% of high-risk patients received combination cholesterol-lowering medications.

The Family Heart Database is comprised of real-world diagnostic, procedural, and prescription data from claims and/or laboratory information in the U.S. from 2012 to 2021.