Statin pretreatment and presentation patterns in patients with coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND: Knowledge on the impact of pretreatment statin therapy on presentation of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of statin pretreatment on presentation patterns of patients with CAD. METHODS: The study included 12,989 consecutive patients with CAD who underwent coronary angiography. The primary outcome was presentation as stable angina or acute coronary syndrome (ACS) according to statin pretreatment. RESULTS: At the time of presentation, 8147 (62.7%) patients were receiving statins and 4842 (37.3%) patients were not receiving statins. Presentation pattern in patients receiving statins vs. those not receiving statins was: stable angina in 5939 (72.9%) vs. 2102 (43.4%) patients; odds ratio (OR) = 3.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.25-3.78; p < 0.001; unstable angina in 1435 (17.6%) vs. 1011 (20.9%) patients; OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.74-0.89; p < 0.001; non- -ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in 463 (5.7%) vs. 505 (10.4%) patients; OR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.45-0.59; p < 0.001; and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in 310 (3.8%) vs. 1224 (25.3%) patients; OR = 0.11, 95% CI 0.10-0.13; p < 0.001. Gensini score (median [25th to 75th percentiles]) was significantly higher in patients on statins presenting with stable angina (26.5 [13.0-59.5] vs. 21.0 [10.5-47.4]; p < 0.001) or ACS (39.3 [17.5-77.0] vs. 37.0 [18.0-64.0]; p = 0.001). In multivariable analysis, statin therapy was an independent correlate of reduced presentation with ACS (adjusted OR = 0.35 [0.32-0.39]; p < 0.001) or STEMI (adjusted OR = 0.18 [0.16-0.22]; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite having a higher coronary atherosclerotic burden, patients with CAD on statin therapy have reduced odds for presentation with ACS and STEMI compared to patients not receiving statins.