Lipid Management Is Poor Among US Veterans at Risk of ASCVD

US veterans have a disproportionately high risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and a low adherence to lipid-lowering therapy (LLT), according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology 73rd Annual Scientific Session & Expo.

In this study, researchers assessed electronic health records from the Veterans Health Administration from 2003 to 2019. In total, they analyzed 16,463,761 veterans diagnosed with ASCVD who were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision/International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision and Current Procedural Terminology codes. Veterans at risk of ASCVD were defined as those without ASCVD with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, obesity, familial hypercholesterolemia, hypertension with high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; >130 mg/dl), current smoker with high LDL-C, or current smoker with hypertension. Lipid levels and treatment were assessed 12 months before and 12 months after index.

According to the results, 12 months following study index, 66% of veterans with ASCVD and 24% at risk of ASCVD were on LLT, with 62% and 22% using statins, respectively. Troublingly, utilization of nonstatin LLT was less than 5% in both groups. The researchers concluded that “the burden of ASCVD in veterans remains high,” adding that “use of nonstatin LLT remains low.”