YAMAGUCHI JUNICHI
   Department   School of Medicine(Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital), School of Medicine
   Position   Professor and Division head
Article types Original article
Language English
Peer review Peer reviewed
Title Targeting high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels in acute coronary syndrome patients undergoing contemporary lipid-lowering therapy: a sub-analysis of the HIJ-PROPER trial.
Journal Formal name:Journal of cardiology
Abbreviation:J Cardiol
ISSN code:09145087/18764738
Domestic / ForeginDomestic
Publisher Elsevier B.V.
Volume, Issue, Page pp.in press
Author and coauthor WATANABE-KAWADA Erisa†, YAMAGUCHI Junichi*, SEKIGUCHI Haruki, ARASHI Hiroyuki, OGAWA Hiroshi, HAGIWARA Nobuhisa
Authorship Corresponding author
Publication date 2019/11
Summary BACKGROUND:The effects of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels on clinical outcomes in chronic-phase acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients undergoing aggressive lipid-lowering therapy remain unclear. We examined the effects of hs-CRP levels on the prognosis of ACS patients who underwent aggressive lipid-lowering therapy and determined treatment targets for hs-CRP value.
METHODS:This post-hoc sub-analysis of a prospective randomized control trial (HIJ-PROPER) included 1734 ACS patients with dyslipidemia, who were divided into hs-CRP quartiles after 3 months of treatment. Primary endpoints were combined all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, unstable angina, and ischemia-driven coronary revascularization. Secondary endpoint was all-cause death.
RESULTS:The median follow-up period was 3.7 years. Overall, 1415 patients were evaluated retrospectively. No significant among-group differences were noted in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels over time (p = 0.44). Kaplan-Meier analyses revealed that the incidence of the primary and secondary endpoints was significantly higher in the highest hs-CRP group than in the other groups [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16-2.00, p < 0.01; HR = 5.30, 95% CI = 2.47-11.32, p < 0.01, respectively]. The cut-off hs-CRP level to predict all-cause death was 0.74 mg/L (receiver operating characteristic curve: sensitivity: 68%, specificity: 62%). Multivariate analyses revealed that hs-CRP ≥0.74 mg/L at 3 months was correlated with an increased risk of all-cause death (adjusted HR = 3.68, 95% CI = 2.22-6.10, p < 0.01).
CONCLUSION:Elevated hs-CRP levels independently predicted a worse prognosis, regardless of LDL-C levels, suggesting that interventions against elevated inflammatory responses plus intensive lipid-lowering therapy and coronary revascularization are encouraging options for secondary prevention in ACS patients.
DOI 10.1016/j.jjcc.2019.09.015
PMID 31699568