Abstract: Apolipoprotein B (apoB) provides an integrated measure of atherogenic risk. Whether apoB levels and apoB lowering hold incremental predictive information on residual risk after acute coronary syndrome beyond that provided by low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is uncertain. Methods: The ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial (Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcomes After an Acute Coronary Syndrome During Treatment With Alirocumab) compared the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitor alirocumab with placebo in 18 924 patients with recent acute coronary syndrome and elevated atherogenic lipoproteins despite optimized statin therapy. Primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; coronary heart disease death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, fatal/nonfatal ischemic stroke, hospitalization for unstable angina). Associations between baseline apoB or apoB at 4 months and MACE were assessed in adjusted Cox proportional hazards and propensity score–matched models. Results: Median follow-up was 2.8 years. In proportional hazards analysis in the placebo group, MACE incidence increased across increasing baseline apoB strata (3.2 [95% CI, 2.9–3.6], 4.0 [95% CI, 3.6–4.5] , and 5.5 [95% CI, 5.0–6.1] events per 100 patient-years in strata 〈 75, 75– 〈 90, ≥90 mg/dL, respectively; P trend 〈 0.0001) and after adjustment for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( P trend =0.035). Higher baseline apoB stratum was associated with greater relative ( P trend 〈 0.0001) and absolute reduction in MACE with alirocumab versus placebo. In the alirocumab group, the incidence of MACE after month 4 decreased monotonically across decreasing achieved apoB strata (4.26 [95% CI, 3.78–4.79], 3.09 [95% CI, 2.69–3.54] , and 2.41 [95% CI, 2.11–2.76] events per 100 patient-years in strata ≥50, 〉 35– 〈 50, and ≤35 mg/dL, respectively). Compared with propensity score–matched patients from the placebo group, treatment hazard ratios for alirocumab also decreased monotonically across achieved apoB strata. Achieved apoB was predictive of MACE after adjustment for achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol but not vice versa. Conclusions: In patients with recent acute coronary syndrome and elevated atherogenic lipoproteins, MACE increased across baseline apoB strata. Alirocumab reduced MACE across all strata of baseline apoB, with larger absolute reductions in patients with higher baseline levels. Lower achieved apoB was associated with lower risk of MACE, even after accounting for achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, indicating that apoB provides incremental information. Achievement of apoB levels as low as ≤35 mg/dL may reduce lipoprotein-attributable residual risk after acute coronary syndrome. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01663402.

Abstract: In observational data, lower levels of lipoprotein(a) have been associated with greater prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Whether pharmacologic lowering of lipoprotein(a) influences incident type 2 diabetes is unknown. We determined the relationship of lipoprotein(a) concentration with incident type 2 diabetes and effects of treatment with alirocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial alirocumab was compared with placebo in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Incident diabetes was determined from laboratory, medication, and adverse event data. RESULTS Among 13,480 patients without diabetes at baseline, 1,324 developed type 2 diabetes over a median 2.7 years. Median baseline lipoprotein(a) was 21.9 mg/dL. With placebo, 10 mg/dL lower baseline lipoprotein(a) was associated with hazard ratio 1.04 (95% CI 1.02−1.06, P & lt; 0.001) for incident type 2 diabetes. Alirocumab reduced lipoprotein(a) by a median 23.2% with greater absolute reductions from higher baseline levels and no overall effect on incident type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.85–1.05). At low baseline lipoprotein(a) levels, alirocumab tended to reduce incident type 2 diabetes, while at high baseline lipoprotein(a) alirocumab tended to increase incident type 2 diabetes compared with placebo (treatment–baseline lipoprotein(a) interaction P = 0.006). In the alirocumab group, a 10 mg/dL decrease in lipoprotein(a) from baseline was associated with hazard ratio 1.07 (95% CI 1.03−1.12; P = 0.0002) for incident type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS In patients with acute coronary syndrome, baseline lipoprotein(a) concentration associated inversely with incident type 2 diabetes. Alirocumab had neutral overall effect on incident type 2 diabetes. However, treatment-related reductions in lipoprotein(a), more pronounced from high baseline levels, were associated with increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes. Whether these findings pertain to other therapies that reduce lipoprotein(a) is undetermined.

Abstract: The ISCHEMIA trial (International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness With Medical and Invasive Approaches) compared an initial invasive versus an initial conservative management strategy for patients with chronic coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, with no major difference in most outcomes during a median of 3.2 years. Extended follow-up for mortality is ongoing. Methods: ISCHEMIA participants were randomized to an initial invasive strategy added to guideline-directed medical therapy or a conservative strategy. Patients with moderate or severe ischemia, ejection fraction ≥35%, and no recent acute coronary syndromes were included. Those with an unacceptable level of angina were excluded. Extended follow-up for vital status is being conducted by sites or through central death index search. Data obtained through December 2021 are included in this interim report. We analyzed all-cause, cardiovascular, and noncardiovascular mortality by randomized strategy, using nonparametric cumulative incidence estimators, Cox regression models, and Bayesian methods. Undetermined deaths were classified as cardiovascular as prespecified in the trial protocol. Results: Baseline characteristics for 5179 original ISCHEMIA trial participants included median age 65 years, 23% women, 16% Hispanic, 4% Black, 42% with diabetes, and median ejection fraction 0.60. A total of 557 deaths accrued during a median follow-up of 5.7 years, with 268 of these added in the extended follow-up phase. This included a total of 343 cardiovascular deaths, 192 noncardiovascular deaths, and 22 unclassified deaths. All-cause mortality was not different between randomized treatment groups (7-year rate, 12.7% in invasive strategy, 13.4% in conservative strategy; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.00 [95% CI, 0.85–1.18]). There was a lower 7-year rate cardiovascular mortality (6.4% versus 8.6%; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.63–0.96] ) with an initial invasive strategy but a higher 7-year rate of noncardiovascular mortality (5.6% versus 4.4%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.44 [95% CI, 1.08–1.91]) compared with the conservative strategy. No heterogeneity of treatment effect was evident in prespecified subgroups, including multivessel coronary disease. Conclusions: There was no difference in all-cause mortality with an initial invasive strategy compared with an initial conservative strategy, but there was lower risk of cardiovascular mortality and higher risk of noncardiovascular mortality with an initial invasive strategy during a median follow-up of 5.7 years. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT04894877.

Abstract: Small observational studies have suggested that statin users have a lower risk of dying with COVID‐19. We tested this hypothesis in a large, population‐based cohort of adults in 2 of Canada’s most populous provinces: Ontario and Alberta. Methods and Results We examined reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction swab positivity rates for SARS‐CoV‐2 in adults using statins compared with nonusers. In patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, we compared 30‐day risk of all‐cause emergency department visit, hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, or death in statin users versus nonusers, adjusting for baseline differences in demographics, clinical comorbidities, and prior health care use, as well as propensity for statin use. Between January and June 2020, 2.4% of 226 142 tested individuals aged 18 to 65 years, 2.7% of 88 387 people aged 66 to 75 years, and 4.1% of 154 950 people older than 75 years had a positive reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction swab for SARS‐CoV‐2. Compared with 353 878 nonusers, the 115 871 statin users were more likely to test positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 (3.6% versus 2.8%, P 〈 0.001), but this difference was not significant after adjustment for baseline differences and propensity for statin use in each age stratum (adjusted odds ratio 1.00 [95% CI, 0.88–1.14], 1.00 [0.91–1.09] , and 1.06 [0.82–1.38], respectively). In individuals younger than 75 years with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, statin users were more likely to visit an emergency department, be hospitalized, be admitted to the intensive care unit, or to die of any cause within 30 days of their positive swab result than nonusers, but none of these associations were significant after multivariable adjustment. In individuals older than 75 years with SARS‐CoV‐2, statin users were more likely to visit an emergency department (28.2% versus 17.9%, adjusted odds ratio 1.41 [1.23–1.61] ) or be hospitalized (32.7% versus 21.9%, adjusted odds ratio 1.19 [1.05–1.36]), but were less likely to die (26.9% versus 31.3%, adjusted odds ratio 0.76 [0.67–0.86] ) of any cause within 30 days of their positive swab result than nonusers. Conclusions Compared with statin nonusers, patients taking statins exhibit the same risk of testing positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 and those younger than 75 years exhibit similar outcomes within 30 days of a positive test. Patients older than 75 years with a positive SARS‐CoV‐2 test and who were taking statins had more emergency department visits and hospitalizations, but exhibited lower 30‐day all‐cause mortality risk.

Abstract: The relative cardiovascular safety of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists compared with GnRH agonists in men with prostate cancer and known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remains controversial. Methods: In this international, multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label trial, men with prostate cancer and concomitant atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive the GnRH antagonist degarelix or the GnRH agonist leuprolide for 12 months. The primary outcome was the time to first adjudicated major adverse cardiovascular event (composite of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke) through 12 months. Results: Because of slower-than-projected enrollment and fewer-than-projected primary outcome events, enrollment was stopped before the 900 planned participants were accrued. From May 3, 2016, to April 16, 2020, a total of 545 patients from 113 sites across 12 countries were randomly selected. Baseline characteristics were balanced between study groups. The median age was 73 years, 49.8% had localized prostate cancer; 26.3% had locally advanced disease, and 20.4% had metastatic disease. A major adverse cardiovascular event occurred in 15 (5.5%) patients assigned to degarelix and 11 (4.1%) patients assigned to leuprolide (hazard ratio, 1.28 [95% CI, 0.59–2.79]; P =0.53). Conclusions: PRONOUNCE (A Trial Comparing Cardiovascular Safety of Degarelix Versus Leuprolide in Patients With Advanced Prostate Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease) is the first, international, randomized clinical trial to prospectively compare the cardiovascular safety of a GnRH antagonist and a GnRH agonist in patients with prostate cancer. The study was terminated prematurely because of the smaller than planned number of participants and events, and no difference in major adverse cardiovascular events at 1 year between patients assigned to degarelix or leuprolide was observed. The relative cardiovascular safety of GnRH antagonists and agonists remains unresolved. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT02663908.

Abstract: Background: People with diabetes and recent ACS are at higher risk for ischemic CV events and derive greater benefit from intensive lipid-lowering therapy than those without diabetes. Effect of PCSK9 inhibition in patients with recent ACS and diabetes is unknown. Methods: Alirocumab (ALI) is a fully human monoclonal antibody to PCSK9. In ODYSSEY OUTCOMES, 18,924 patients with recent ACS and LDL-C≥70mg/dL on a maximum-tolerated dose of atorvastatin or rosuvastatin were randomly assigned to ALI 75mg or placebo SC every 2 weeks. ALI blindly increased to 150mg or decreased to placebo to achieve an LDL-C of 25-50mg/dL. Primary efficacy endpoint was time to first MACE: CHD death, nonfatal MI, ischemic stroke or hospitalization for unstable angina. This prespecified analysis reports efficacy and safety by baseline glucometabolic status, including new-onset diabetes (NOD). Results: Table reports incidence of MACE by assigned treatment and baseline glucometabolic status. Overall ALI reduced MACE, without evidence of effect modification by baseline glucometabolic status: a greater absolute risk reduction was observed with ALI in those with diabetes. NOD was not increased with ALI. Conclusion: Patients with recent ACS and diabetes derived greater absolute benefit from ALI added to maximum-tolerated statin. No increase in NOD was seen with ALI (NCT01663402).CategoryN (% of cohort)ARRHazard ratio (95% CI)PinteractionMACE cumulative incidenceAlirocumab n/N (%)Placebo n/N (%)All subjects18,924 (100)903/9462 (9.5)1052/9462 (11.1)1.60.85 (0.78, 0.93)NADiabetes5444 (28.8)380/2693 (14.1)452/2751 (16.4)2.30.84 (0.74, 0.97)0.98 Prediabetes8246 (43.6)331/4130 (8.0)380/4116 (9.2)1.20.86 (0.74, 1.00)Normoglycemia5234 (27.7)192/2639 (7.3)220/2595 (8.5)1.20.85 (0.70, 1.03)Median follow-up: 34 months. ARR, absolute risk reduction; NA, not applicable. Disclosure K.K. Ray: Consultant; Self; Amgen Inc., Sanofi. Research Support; Self; Sanofi. Consultant; Self; The Medicines Company. Research Support; Self; Amgen Inc., Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pfizer Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc., AstraZeneca, Esperion Therapeutics, Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Pfizer Inc.. Consultant; Self; Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.. Research Support; Self; Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. H. Colhoun: Research Support; Self; AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. Stock/Shareholder; Self; Bayer AG. Research Support; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Advisory Panel; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Other Relationship; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Advisory Panel; Self; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Research Support; Self; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Advisory Panel; Self; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Other Relationship; Self; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Pfizer Inc., Roche Pharma. Stock/Shareholder; Self; Roche Pharma. Research Support; Self; Sanofi-Aventis. Advisory Panel; Self; Sanofi-Aventis. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Sanofi. Other Relationship; Self; Sanofi. Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc. M. Szarek: Consultant; Self; Sanofi, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Baxter, Resverlogix Corp. M. Baccara-Dinet: Employee; Self; Sanofi. D.L. Bhatt: Research Support; Self; Amarin Corporation, Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Chiesi USA, Inc., Eisai Inc., Ethicon US, LLC., Forest Laboratories, Inc., Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ischemix, Eli Lilly and Company, Medtronic, Pfizer Inc., Roche Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, The Medicines Company. Other Relationship; Self; American Heart Association. V. Bittner: Research Support; Self; AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Bayer AG, Esperion Therapeutics, Amgen Inc.. Advisory Panel; Self; Sanofi. Research Support; Self; Dalcor. A.J. Budaj: Other Relationship; Self; Sanofi-Aventis, AstraZeneca, Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc.. Consultant; Self; Bayer AG. Other Relationship; Self; Novartis Pharma K.K., Eisai Co., Ltd.. R. Diaz: None. S.G. Goodman: Research Support; Self; Amgen Inc.. Consultant; Self; Amgen Inc.. Research Support; Self; AstraZeneca. Consultant; Self; AstraZeneca. Research Support; Self; Bayer AG. Consultant; Self; Bayer AG. Research Support; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Consultant; Self; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Research Support; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Consultant; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Research Support; Self; GlaxoSmithKline plc.. Consultant; Self; Merck & Co., Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Research Support; Self; Pfizer Inc.. Consultant; Self; Pfizer Inc.. Research Support; Self; Sanofi. Consultant; Self; Sanofi. Research Support; Self; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Research Support; Self; CSL Behring. C.G. Hanotin: Employee; Self; Sanofi. J. Jukema: Research Support; Self; Sanofi-Aventis, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Amgen Inc. V. Loizeau: Employee; Self; Sanofi. R.D. Lopes: Consultant; Self; Bayer AG, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. Other Relationship; Self; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Consultant; Self; Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited. Other Relationship; Self; GlaxoSmithKline plc., Medtronic. Consultant; Self; Merck & Co., Inc.. Other Relationship; Self; Pfizer Inc. A. Moryusef: Employee; Self; Sanofi. R. Pordy: Employee; Self; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. A.D. Ristic: None. M. Roe: None. J. Tuñón: Speaker's Bureau; Self; Sanofi-Aventis. Advisory Panel; Self; Sanofi-Aventis. Other Relationship; Self; Sanofi-Aventis. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Amgen Inc. H.D. White: Other Relationship; Self; AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company. Research Support; Self; National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Other Relationship; Self; Omthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pfizer Inc., Eisai Inc.. Research Support; Self; DalCor Pharma UK Inc. Advisory Panel; Self; Sirtex, Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.. Other Relationship; Self; Luitpold Pharmaceuticals Ltd., CSL Behring, Sanofi-Aventis. G.G. Schwartz: Research Support; Self; Roche Pharma, Sanofi, Resverlogix Corp. P.G. Steg: Consultant; Self; Amarin Corporation, AstraZeneca. Research Support; Self; Bayer AG. Consultant; Self; Bayer AG, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Advisory Panel; Self; Novartis AG. Consultant; Self; Pfizer Inc., Sanofi. Research Support; Self; Sanofi, Servier. Consultant; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc..