Effect of statins on severity of coronary artery lesion and clinical prognosis in patients with coronary heart disease

Abstract

To investigate the effect of statins on the severity of coronary artery lesion in patients with coronary heart disease, and to analyze the risk factors of clinical prognosis. A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinical data of 156 patients with coronary heart disease and completed the second re-examination of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) who were admitted to the department of cardiovascular medicine of Peking University People's Hospital from January 2017 to December 2021 were collected. According to whether they took statins regularly according to the doctor's instructions after being diagnosed with coronary heart disease based on the first CCTA examination, the patients were divided into statin group and non-statin group, and the clinical characteristics of the two groups and the results of the second re-examination of CCTA were compared and analyzed. According to whether the patients had major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) within 3-5 years after diagnosis of coronary heart disease, the patients were divided into MACCE group and non-MACCE group, and the clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared and analyzed. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to screen the risk factors related to the adverse prognosis (occurrence of MACCE) of patients with coronary heart disease. (1) A total of 156 patients with coronary heart disease were enrolled, including 113 patients (72.44%) in the statin group and 43 patients (27.56%) in the non-statin group. Except for low density lipoprotein (LDL) and serum creatinine (SCr), there was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index (BMI), basic diseases, smoking history, the first CCTA display of coronary artery lesions and plaque characteristics, the interval between the two CCTA and other laboratory indicators between the two groups. Compared with the non-statin group, the statin group had a significant reduction in the overall increase rate of coronary artery stenosis score (Gensini score) in the CCTA re-examination and the incidence of MACCE [Gensini score increase rate: 25.66% (29/113) vs. 46.51% (20/43), incidence of MACCE: 9.73% (11/113) vs. 30.23% (13/43), both P < 0.05]. (2) Among 156 patients with coronary heart disease, 24 cases (15.38%) experienced MACCE within 3-5 years after diagnosis, while 132 cases (84.62%) did not experience MACCE. The proportion of patients in the MACCE group who regularly took statins after diagnosis was significantly lower than that in the non-MACCE group [45.83% (11/24) vs. 77.27% (102/132), P < 0.01], and D-dimer and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were significantly higher than those in the non-MACCE group [D-dimer (μg/L): 148.50 (101.25, 314.75) vs. 88.10 (59.03, 132.12), HbA1c: 6.45% (6.20%, 7.93%) vs. 6.10% (5.81%, 6.92%), both P < 0.05]. Compared with the non-MACCE group, in the first CCTA examination of patients in the MACCE group, the total percentage of atheroma volume (PAV), fibrous-fat PAV, necrotic core PAV and Gensini score were significantly increased [total PAV: 43.05% (29.19%, 60.60%) vs. 24.57% (16.94%, 39.09%), fibrous-fat PAV: 18.61% (8.48%, 26.44%) vs. 6.81% (4.16%, 12.57%), necrotic core PAV: 5.96% (2.98%, 8.71%) vs. 2.29% (1.47%, 4.36%), Gensini score: 30.25 (23.50, 38.30) vs. 19.50 (13.20, 31.10), all P < 0.05]. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that regular use of statins [odds ratio (OR) = 0.282, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.110-0.727, P = 0.008], D-dimer (OR = 1.011, 95%CI was 1.005-1.017, P < 0.001), necrotic core PAV (OR = 1.323, 95%CI was 1.120-1.563, P = 0.001) and Gensini score (OR = 1.038, 95%CI was 1.004-1.073, P = 0.028) were independent risk factors for MACCE within 3-5 years after diagnosis in patients with coronary heart disease. For patients with coronary heart disease, D-dimer, necrotic core PAV, and Gensini scores should be closely monitored. Statins can effectively alleviate the severity of coronary artery disease and reduce the occurrence of MACCE in patients with coronary artery disease.