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Williams KJ. Eradicating Atherosclerotic Events by Targeting Early Subclinical Disease: It Is Time to Retire the Therapeutic Paradigm of Too Much, Too Late. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2024; 44:48-64. [PMID: 37970716 DOI: 10.1161/atvbaha.123.320065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
Recent decades have seen spectacular advances in understanding and managing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, but paradoxically, clinical progress has stalled. Residual risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events is particularly vexing, given recognized lifestyle interventions and powerful modern medications. Why? Atherosclerosis begins early in life, yet clinical trials and mechanistic studies often emphasize terminal, end-stage plaques, meaning on the verge of causing heart attacks and strokes. Thus, current clinical evidence drives us to emphasize aggressive treatments that are delayed until patients already have advanced arterial disease. I call this paradigm "too much, too late." This brief review covers exciting efforts that focus on preventing, or finding and treating, arterial disease before its end-stage. Also included are specific proposals to establish a new evidence base that could justify intensive short-term interventions (induction-phase therapy) to treat subclinical plaques that are early enough perhaps to heal. If we can establish that such plaques are actionable, then broad screening to find them in early midlife individuals would become imperative-and achievable. You have a lump in your coronaries! can motivate patients and clinicians. We must stop thinking of a heart attack as a disease. The real disease is atherosclerosis. In my opinion, an atherosclerotic heart attack is a medical failure. It is a manifestation of longstanding arterial disease that we had allowed to progress to its end-stage, despite knowing that atherosclerosis begins early in life and despite the availability of remarkably safe and highly effective therapies. The field needs a transformational advance to shift the paradigm out of end-stage management and into early interventions that hold the possibility of eradicating the clinical burden of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, currently the biggest killer in the world. We urgently need a new evidence base to redirect our main focus from terminal, end-stage atherosclerosis to earlier, and likely reversible, human arterial disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Jon Williams
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Department of Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, PA
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Zhao M, Feng R, Werth VP, Williams KJ. State of current management of the heightened risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular events in an established cohort of patients with lupus erythematosus. Lupus Sci Med 2023; 10:e000908. [PMID: 37604650 PMCID: PMC10445381 DOI: 10.1136/lupus-2023-000908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Patients with lupus erythematosus (LE) are at heightened risk for clinical events, chiefly heart attacks and strokes, from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). We recently proposed new guidelines to assess and manage ASCVD event risk specifically in LE. Here, we examined current cardiovascular management in light of these new recommendations. METHODS We studied our entire UPenn Longitudinal Lupus Cohort of patients with cutaneous LE, without (CLE-only) or with (CLE+SLE) concurrent systemic LE, for whom we had full access to medical records (n=370, LE-ASCVD Study Cohort). RESULTS Of our LE-ASCVD Study Cohort, 336 out of 370 (90.8%) had a designated primary-care physician. By the new guidelines, the most recent low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were above-goal for 249 out of 370 (67.3%). Two-hundred sixty-six (71.9%) had hypertension, which was undertreated or untreated in 198 out of 266 (74.4%). Of current smokers, 51 out of 63 (81.0%) had no documented smoking cessation counselling or referrals. Diabetes and triglyceridaemia were generally well managed. Of the cohort, 278 qualified for two widely used online estimators of ASCVD event risk in primary prevention: the ACC-ASCVD Risk Estimator Plus and QRisk3. We also stratified these 278 patients into our recently defined categories of ASCVD event risk in LE. These three methods for estimating ASCVD event risk showed clinically meaningful discordance for 169 out of 278 (60.8%). The documented rate of ASCVD events in the first 10 years after enrolment was 13.5% (95% CI 8.9%, 17.9%), similar between CLE-only and CLE+SLE, indicating an at-risk population despite the preponderance of women and an average age at enrolment of only 47 years. CONCLUSION Patients with CLE-only or CLE+SLE are undertreated compared with the new guidelines and, accordingly, they experience a significant burden of ASCVD events. Moreover, it is unclear how to accurately assess their future ASCVD event risk, except that it is substantial. Efforts are underway to improve ASCVD event risk estimation and guideline implementation in patients with lupus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Zhao
- Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans' Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Rui Feng
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Victoria P Werth
- Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans' Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kevin Jon Williams
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Department of Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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Olbrich H, Kridin K, Zirpel H, Sadik CD, Terheyden P, Thaçi D, Ludwig RJ, Boch K. Cutaneous lupus erythematosus is associated with an increased risk of cardiac and vascular diseases: a large-scale, propensity-matched global retrospective cohort study. EBioMedicine 2023; 93:104639. [PMID: 37285617 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autoimmune skin diseases can expedite various systemic sequelae involving other organs. Although limited to the skin, cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) was noted to be associated with thromboembolic diseases. However, small cohort sizes, partially discrepant outcomes, missing data on CLE subtypes, and incomplete risk assessment limits these findings. METHODS The Global Collaborative Network of TriNetX provides access to medical records of more than 120 million patients worldwide. We used TriNetX to elucidate the risk for cardiac and vascular diseases after diagnosis of CLE, and its subtypes chronic discoid (DLE) and subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE). We included 30,315 CLE, 27,427 DLE, and 1613 SCLE patients. We performed propensity-matched cohort studies determining the risk to develop cardiac and vascular diseases (ICD10CM:I00-99) following diagnosis of CLE, DLE, or SCLE. Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were excluded. FINDINGS We document that CLE and its subtype DLE but less so SCLE are associated with a higher risk for various cardiac and vascular diseases. This included predominantly thromboembolic events such as pulmonary embolism, cerebral infarction, and acute myocardial infarction, but also peripheral vascular disease and pericarditis. For example, the hazard ratio of arterial embolism and thrombosis was 1.399 (confidence interval: 1.230-1.591, p < 0.0001) following CLE diagnosis. The study is limited by retrospective data collection and reliance on ICD10-disease classification. INTERPRETATION CLE and its major subtype DLE are associated with an increased risk for the development of a wide range of cardiac and vascular diseases. FUNDING This research was funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (EXC 2167, CSSL/CS01-2022) and the Excellence-Chair Program of the State of Schleswig-Holstein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henning Olbrich
- Department of Dermatology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Khalaf Kridin
- Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany; Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel; Unit of Dermatology and Skin Research Laboratory, Barch Padeh Medical Center, Poriya, Israel
| | - Henner Zirpel
- Comprehensive Center for Inflammation Medicine, University-Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany
| | | | | | - Diamant Thaçi
- Comprehensive Center for Inflammation Medicine, University-Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Ralf J Ludwig
- Department of Dermatology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany; Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Katharina Boch
- Department of Dermatology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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More than skin deep: Recognizing cardiovascular co-morbidities in medical dermatology. A Fellow's Voice. Am J Prev Cardiol 2022; 11:100374. [PMID: 36052150 PMCID: PMC9424348 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpc.2022.100374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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Rua-Figueroa Fernández de Larrinoa Í, Lozano MJC, Fernández-Cid CM, Cobo T, Salman Monte TC, Freire González M, Hidalgo Bermejo FJ, Román Gutiérrez CS, Cortés-Hernández J. Preventing organ damage in systemic lupus erythematosus: the impact of early biological treatment. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2022; 22:821-829. [PMID: 35815355 DOI: 10.1080/14712598.2022.2096406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION One of the most important aims in the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is to avoid or delay the accumulation of organ damage. The first five years after diagnosis are crucial for prognosis. AREAS COVERED This manuscript reviews available data on organ damage accrual in SLE and early therapeutic intervention as a possible strategy to prevent its long-term accrual. EXPERT OPINION Organ damage can be minimized by controlling disease activity and risk of flares, reducing the dose of glucocorticoids, and ensuring a proper therapeutic intervention with an early introduction of the right therapies. The current standard treatment cannot provide clinical remission in all patients with SLE. Therefore, there is a clinical need for introducing new therapeutic strategies able to achieve the main therapeutic objectives. The addition of biologic and other therapeutic agents to the standard of care is effective for controlling disease activity and for preventing severe flares, enabling a reduced use of glucocorticoids, and presumably reducing organ damage progression. Considering its efficacy and safety, early inclusion of biologic agents in the first lines of the treatment algorithm, at least in certain patients, could be considered as an innovative treatment approach to decrease disease burden in SLE patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Tatiana Cobo
- Rheumatology Department, Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain
| | - Tarek C Salman Monte
- Rheumatology Department, Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain
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Martín-González C, Ferrer-Moure C, Carlos Quevedo-Abeledo J, de Vera-González A, González-Delgado A, Sánchez-Martín J, González-Gay MÁ, Ferraz-Amaro I. Apolipoprotein C-III in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Res Ther 2022; 24:104. [PMID: 35538496 PMCID: PMC9088095 DOI: 10.1186/s13075-022-02793-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CV) and an altered lipid profile. High levels of apolipoprotein C-III (ApoC3) are associated with elevated triglyceride levels and an increased risk of CV. In the present study, we aimed to study circulating ApoC3 in patients with SLE and describe its relationship with the manifestations of the disease. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study that included 186 patients with SLE. Disease-related data, CV comorbidity, full lipid profile, and serum levels of ApoC3 were assessed. A multivariable regression analysis was performed to study how ApoC3 was related to SLE features. RESULTS Classic CV risk factors were significantly and strongly associated with circulating ApoC3. After a fully multivariable analysis that included classic CV risk factors and lipid profile molecules, SLICC damage (beta coef. 0.10 [95% CI 0.02-0.19] mg/dl, 0.020) and Katz severity (beta coef. 0.11 [95% CI 0.03-0.19] mg/dl, p = 0.011) indices and SLEDAI activity score (beta coef. 0.05 [95% CI 0.05-0.08] mg/dl, p = 0.004) were all independently associated with higher levels of circulating ApoC3. CONCLUSION Among SLE patients, disease activity, severity, and disease damage are independently associated with higher ApoC3 serum levels.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carmen Ferrer-Moure
- Division of Central Laboratory, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Julio Sánchez-Martín
- Epidemiology, Genetics and Atherosclerosis Research Group On Systemic Inflammatory Diseases, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain
| | - Miguel Á González-Gay
- Epidemiology, Genetics and Atherosclerosis Research Group On Systemic Inflammatory Diseases, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain. .,Division of Rheumatology, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain. .,Cardiovascular Pathophysiology and Genomics Research Unit, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - Iván Ferraz-Amaro
- Division of Rheumatology, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain.
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