Abstract 14242: The Potential Impact of Inflammation on the Lipid Paradox in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Multicenter Study

Abstract

Introduction: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a well-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. However, several clinical studies demonstrated that LDL-C was inversely associated with mortality risk in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), which is known as lipid paradox. Aims: To verify the association between LDL-C and mortality risk among AMI patients. Methods: A total of 5,358 patients with AMI from a nationwide cohort were included in our analysis. All individuals were stratified according to LDL-C quartiles (≤2.00 mmol/l, 2.00-2.54 mmol/l, 2.54-3.19 mmol/l, >3.19 mmol/l) and hsCRP levels (hsCRP≤3 mg/l & hsCRP>3 mg/l). Primary outcome was cardiac mortality. Secondary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Results: During a median follow-up of 2.1 years, 297 deaths and 227 cardiac deaths occurred. Patients in the lowest LDL-C quartile experienced the highest incidence of cardiac and all-cause mortality. The association between mortality risk and LDL-C levels appeared to be U-shaped. Patients in the highest LDL-C quartile had increased incidences of cardiac and all-cause mortality in patients with hsCRP≤3 mg/l. However, higher incidences of both cardiac and all-cause mortality were observed in the lowest LDL-C quartile group among those with hsCRP>3 mg/l. Multivariable COX regression analysis demonstrated that compared with the lowest quartile, the highest LDL-C quartile was significantly associated with a higher risk of cardiac mortality in patients with hsCRP≤3 mg/l (HR 3.04, 95%CI 1.33-6.96, p=0.008), but in patients with hsCRP>3 mg/l, the other three LDL-C quartiles showed a trend for lower cardiac mortality risks, and the second LDL-C quartile met the statistical significance (HR 0.62, 95%CI 0.40-0.95, p=0.027). Conclusion: AMI patients with lower LDL-C levels had a higher risk of mortality. However, this association was only observed in those with high inflammation risk.