Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Control in Outpatients Evaluated by 24-hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Different LDL-C Equations.

Abstract

Office blood pressure (OBP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) calculated by the Friedewald formula (F) are the cornerstones of the cardiovascular risk (CVR) assessment and management based on the SCORE2/SCORE2-OP model proposed by the 2021 ESC Guidelines on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. We compared the CVR stratification estimated by the old SCORE and the SCORE2/SCORE2-OP using OBP and ambulatory blood pressure measurement(ABPM), and we evaluated the prevalence of LDL-C control, after calculating it using three validated equations, in outpatients referred for arterial hypertension. A cross-sectional study on 1539 consecutive patients with valid ABPM. LDL-C was calculated using the Friedewald formula (F), its modification by Martin (M), and the Sampson (S) equation. SCORE and SCORE2/SCORE2-OP were estimated using OBP, mean daytime (+ 5 mmHg adjustment), and mean24-hour systolic blood pressure (+ 10 mmHg adjustment). Individual CVR by 2021 ESC Guidelines (and SCORE2/SCORE2-OP) was compared to the 2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines (and SCORE). Differences in the prevalence of LDL-C control according to the three methods to calculate LDL-C were also analysed. Mean age was60 ± 12 years,with male prevalence (54%). Mean LDL-C values were 118 ± 38 mg/dL (F), 119 ± 37 mg/dL (M), and 120 ± 38 mg/dL (S), respectively. Within the same population, SCORE and SCORE2/SCORE2-OP significantly varied, but no differences emerged aftercomparing the average SCORE2/SCORE2-OP calculated with OBP (6% IQR 3-10), mean24-hour systolic BP (7% IQR 4-11), and meandaytime systolic BP (7% IQR 4-11). SCORE2/SCORE2-OP and 2021 ESC Guidelines reclassified the CVR independently of the method usedfor BP measurement. The low-moderate risk group decreased by 32%, whereas the high and veryhighrisk groups increased by 18% and 12%, respectively. We found a significant reduction in reaching the LDL-C goals regardless of the equation used to calculate it, except for those > 65 years, in whom results were confirmed only by using the M. SCORE2/SCORE2-OP and 2021 ESC Guidelines recommendations led to a non-negligible CVR reclassification and subsequent lack of LDL-C goal, regardless of estimating SCORE2 using OBP or ABPM. Calculating the LDL-C with the M may be the best choice in specific settings.