230 Understanding UK cardiologists’ perception of systemic inflammation and hsCRP in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease: insights from UK respondents to the multinational flame-ASCVD survey

Introduction Despite advancements in managing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), mortality and morbidity rates remain high. This is partially attributed to systemic inflammation (SI) which leads to increased cardiovascular risk in people with both ASCVD and CKD. An early understanding of the clinical perception towards SI and usage of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) could help improve identification and management in people with ASCVD and CKD. The FLAME-ASCVD (systemic inFLAMmation and rolE of hsCRP as a biomarker in AtheroSclerotic CardioVascular Disease) study aimed to assess cardiologists' awareness of SI and hsCRP in this population across ten countries. Methods The FLAME-ASCVD study employed a real-world, cross-sectional, survey involving cardiologists from ten countries, including the United Kingdom. Participants included cardiologists with at least three years of clinical practice experience, seeing a minimum of 15 people with both ASCVD and CKD per month. Responses from 602 cardiologists were evaluated, with this analysis focussing on the subset of 60 UK cardiologists. Results While SI was acknowledged as a CV risk factor by 65% of UK cardiologists, with 77% of UK cardiologists acknowledging the role of SI in recurrent CV events, 54% of UK cardiologists reported not considering SI in decision-making, due to the lack of available treatments. Despite acknowledging CRP (87%) and hsCRP (32%) as valid biomarkers, UK cardiologists reported lower utilization of SI in patient management, with only 23% intending to test for SI in this patient population (compared to 64% globally), highlighting a discrepancy in clinical practice. Similarly, discussions with patients about SI were less common among UK cardiologists (30%) compared to the global average (43%). However, UK cardiologists were more likely to identify the lack of effective SI treatments as the most common unmet need for people with both ASCVD and CKD (58%), compared to cardiologists globally (41%). Conclusions The UK subgroup analysis of the FLAME-ASCVD study provides valuable insights into UK cardiologists' perceptions of SI and hsCRP in people with ASCVD and CKD. Addressing the identified gaps requires increased efforts towards education, guideline development, and further research targeting the residual inflammatory risk in patients with ASCVD and CKD. This study was fully funded by Novo Nordisk. Novo Nordisk employees were involved in all aspects of study conduct and are coauthors of this abstract. Conflict of Interest This study was fully funded by Novo Nordisk. Novo Nordisk employees were involved in all aspects of study conduct and are coauthors of this abstract.