Projected impact of treatment intensification with statin, ezetimibe, and statin plus ezetimibe fixed-dose combination on MACE across six countries

Aims The 2019 European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society (ESC/EAS) dyslipidaemia guidelines recommend achievement of low-density lipoprotein cholestrol (LDL-C) goals based on an individual's risk. We aimed to evaluate the impact of guideline adoption with statin, ezetimibe, and statin plus ezetimibe fixed-dose combination (FDC) on LDL-C goal achievement and incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) across six countries. Methods and results A simulation model with a five-year horizon (2020-2024) was developed based on Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Global Burden of Disease Study database with a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario representing status quo, intervention scenario-1 representing treatment with statin and ezetimibe as separate agents, and intervention scenario-2 representing treatment with statin or statin plus ezetimibe FDC. MACE was defined as the composite of myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke, and cardiovascular death. The mean population LDL-C was reduced from 4.25 mmol/L in the BAU scenario, to 3.65 mmol/L and 3.59 mmol/L in intervention scenarios-1 and -2, respectively. Compared with BAU, intervention scenarios-1 and-2 resulted in relative reduction of MACE by 5.4% and 6.4% representing similar to 3.7 and 4.4 million MACE averted, respectively, across six countries over 5 years. The absolute benefit in terms of MACE averted was highest for China, whereas France had highest relative reduction in MACE with both intervention scenarios compared with BAU. Conclusion The 2019 ESC/EAS guideline-based treatment intensification with strategies based on statin, ezetimibe, and statin plus ezetimibe FDC is estimated to result in a substantial population-level benefit in terms of MACE averted compared with BAU.

Automated summary

According to the 2019 ESC/EAS guidelines, the use of statin, ezetimibe, and statin plus ezetimibe FDC treatment strategies can significantly reduce the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events at the population level.