Oral anti-coagulants use in Chinese hospitalized patients with atrial fibrillation / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Oral anti-coagulants (OAC) are the intervention for the prevention of stroke, which consistently improve clinical outcomes and survival among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The main purpose of this study is to identify problems in OAC utilization among hospitalized patients with AF in China.@*METHODS@#Using data from the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-Atrial Fibrillation (CCC-AF) registry, guideline-recommended OAC use in eligible patients was assessed.@*RESULTS@#A total of 52,530 patients with non-valvular AF were enrolled from February 2015 to December 2019, of whom 38,203 were at a high risk of stroke, 9717 were at a moderate risk, and 4610 were at a low risk. On admission, only 20.0% (6075/30,420) of patients with a diagnosed AF and a high risk of stroke were taking OAC. The use of pre-hospital OAC on admission was associated with a lower risk of new-onset ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack among the diagnosed AF population (adjusted odds ratio: 0.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.43-0.68; P  <0.001). At discharge, the prescription rate of OAC was 45.2% (16,757/37,087) in eligible patients with high stroke risk and 60.7% (2778/4578) in eligible patients with low stroke risk. OAC utilization in patients with high stroke risk on admission or at discharge both increased largely over time (all P  <0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that OAC utilization at discharge was positively associated with in-hospital rhythm control strategies, including catheter ablation (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 11.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.04-13.47; P <0.001), electronic cardioversion (adjusted OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.65-3.51; P <0.001), and anti-arrhythmic drug use (adjusted OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.38-1.53; P <0.001).@*CONCLUSIONS@#In hospitals participated in the CCC-AF project, >70% of AF patients were at a high risk of stroke. Although poor performance on guideline-recommended OAC use was found in this study, over time the CCC-AF project has made progress in stroke prevention in the Chinese AF population.Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02309398.

Statin use and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in patients aged 75 years and older with acute coronary syndrome in China / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective@#To assess the use of statins and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels at admission in hospitalized patients aged 75 years and older with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in China.@*Methods@#Data used in this study derived from the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China (CCC)-ACS project, a nationwide registry with 150 tertiary hospitals reporting details of clinical information of ACS patients. This study enrolled patients 75 years and older with ACS in CCC-ACS project from November 2014 to June 2017. Patients were divided into two groups according to the history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Pre-hospital statin use, LDL-C levels at admission and prescription of statins at discharge were reported.@*Results@#A total of 10 899 patients 75 years and older with ACS were enrolled. The median age was 79 years and 58.7% (6 397 cases) were male. Among patients with history of ASCVD, 33.9% (1 028 cases) of them received statins before hospitalization. Among patients without history of ASCVD, 12.7% (996/7 871) received statins before hospitalization. The mean level of LDL-C was (2.4±0.9) mmol/L and LDL-C was <1.8 mmol/L in 24.7% (747 cases) of patients with history of ASCVD. The mean level of LDL-C was (2.6±0.9) mmol/L and LDL-C was <2.6 mmol/L in 51.7% (4 072 cases) of patients without history of ASCVD. At discharge, 91.2% (9 524/10 488) of patients were prescribed with statins in patients without contraindications for statin.@*Conclusion@#In elderly patients with recurrent ASCVD, there was an inadequate statin use before hospitalization and most patients did not reach the LDL-C target level when they had the recurrent events. In the elderly ACS patients without history of ASCVD, more than half of the patients had an ideal LDL-C level. It seems that ideal LDL-C level for primary prevention of ACS in elderly people needs to be reevaluated with further studies.

Association between very low density lipoprotein cholesterol and cholesterol absorption/synthesis markers in patients with moderate and high risk of coronary heart disease / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the association between very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and cholesterol absorption and synthesis markers in patients with moderate and high risk of coronary heart disease.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total 363 statin-naïve patients with moderate and high risk of coronary heart disease were consecutively recruited from two hospitals in Shanxi and Henan provinces between October 2008 and June 2009. A standard questionnaire and physical examination were performed at baseline. Atorvastatin (20 mg/day) was administered to patients for 4 weeks. Venous blood samples after an overnight fast were collected before and after treatment for measuring VLDL-C and cholesterol absorption and synthesis markers. In qualitative analyses, the baseline level of cholesterol absorption and synthesis markers and their reduction after atorvastatin treatment were categorized into 3 tertile groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) Of 363 patients, 283 patients with mean age of (55.43±9.01)years old with complete data were finally analyzed. The median level of baseline VLDL-C was 1.06 (0.65, 1.86) mmol/L. The median level of baseline cholesterol absorption marker (Campesterol) and cholesterol synthesis marker (Lathosterol) was 6.01 (3.78, 9.45) mg/L and 13.46 (8.30, 21.07) mg/L, respectively. (2) Partial correlation analysis and multiple regression showed the baseline level of VLDL-C was positively correlated with Campesterol (r=0.153, P<0.05) but not with Lathosterol(r=0.182, P=0.173). Furthermore, baseline VLDL-C level significantly increased with tertile of the baseline level of Campesterol in the qualitative analyses(P for trend=0.035). (3) Mean reduction in VLDL-C levels was 38.0% after 4 weeks atorvastatin treatment. VLDL-C reduction was positively correlated with Campesterol reduction (r=0.331, P<0.001). VLDL-C reduction significantly increased with the tertile of Campesterol reduction (P for trend=0.032). But this trend was not observed between VLDL-C level and Lathosterol (P for trend=0.798).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The level of VLDL-C was closely related to cholesterol absorption marker, and further studies are needed to validate if inhibitor of cholesterol absorption (for example by Ezetimibe) could bring about more effective VLDL-C lowering effect in this patient cohort.</p>

Relationship between leukocyte count and risk of hypertension / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the association between the leukocyte count and blood pressure value and hypertension risk in a Chinese community-based population.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 4 188 participants who took part in the baseline examination in 1992 and the follow-up survey in 2007 from the Chinese Multi-Provincial Cohort Study were included in this study. The relationship of leukocyte and blood pressure value and hypertension risk were evaluated by cross-sectional analyses.The prospective association between baseline leukocyte count and blood pressure changes and risk of hypertension were analyzed in 2 954 normotensive individuals at baseline examination.The associations between leukocyte count and blood pressure was evaluated with Spearman's rank correlation analyses and linear regression models,and the associations between leukocyte count and risk of hypertension was evaluated with logistic regression models.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The cross-sectional study results showed that the correlation coefficient of leukocyte count and systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure was 0.208 and 0.154 (both P < 0.001), respectively.Multiple linear regression analyses showed that every 1×10(9)/L increment in leukocyte count was associated with 1.41 mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) systolic blood pressure increase (95% CI: 1.20-1.63 mmHg, P < 0.001) and 0.63 mmHg diastolic blood pressure increase (95% CI: 0.51-0.76 mmHg, P < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that every 1×10(9)/L increment in leukocyte count was associated with a 15% increased risk of hypertension (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.12-1.19, P < 0.001). (2) During 15 years of follow-up, 47.2% (1 394/2 954) normotensive individuals progressed to hypertension. Spearman's rank correlation analyses showed that, the correlation coefficient of leukocyte count and systolic blood pressure change and diastolic blood pressure change was 0.062 (P = 0.003) and 0.102 (P < 0.001), respectively.Multiple linear regression analyses showed that every 1×10(9)/L increment in baseline leukocyte count was associated with 1.03 mmHg systolic blood pressure increase (95% CI: 0.74-1.32 mmHg, P < 0.001) and 0.64 mmHg diastolic blood pressure increase (95% CI: 0.48-0.80 mmHg, P < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that every 1×10(9)/L increment in leukocyte count was associated with a 9% increased risk of incident hypertension (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.13, P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Elevated leukocyte count is associated with increased blood pressure value and hypertension among Chinese community-based population, suggesting that inflammation may participate in the pathogenesis of hypertension.</p>