Association of cardiometabolic and vascular atherosclerosis phenotypes on non-contrast chest CT with incident heart failure in patients with severe hypercholesterolemia

Pamela Piña, Daniel Lorenzatti, Francesco Castagna, Jeremy Miles, Toshiki Kuno, Andrea Scotti, Javier Arce, Ari Feinberg, Dou Huang, Jake Gilman, Ephraim Leiderman, Jonathan Daich, Paul Ippolito, Carlos A. Gongora, Aldo L. Schenone, Lili Zhang, Carlos J. Rodriguez, Michael J. Blaha, Damini Dey, Daniel S. BermanSalim S. Virani, Jeffrey M. Levsky, Mario J. Garcia, Leandro Slipczuk

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcium (CAC), thoracic aorta calcification (TAC), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) are associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and heart failure (HF). OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine whether these cardiometabolic and atherosclerotic risk factors identified by non-contrast chest computed tomography (CT) are associated with HF hospitalizations in patients with LDL-C≥ 190 mg/dL. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with LDL-C ≥190 mg/dL, aged ≥40 years without established ASCVD or HF, who had a non-contrast chest CT within 3 years of LDL-C measurement. Ordinal CAC, ordinal TAC, EAT, and NAFLD were measured. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable Cox regression models were built to ascertain the association with HF hospitalization. RESULTS: We included 762 patients with median age 60 (53–68) years, 68% (n=520) female, and median LDL-C level of 203 (194–216) mg/dL. Patients were followed for 4.7 (interquartile range 2.75–6.16) years, and 107 (14%) had a HF hospitalization. Overall, 355 (47%) patients had CAC=0, 210 (28%) had TAC=0, 116 (15%) had NAFLD, and median EAT was 79 mL (49-114). Moderate-Severe CAC (log-rank p<0.001) and TAC (log-rank p=0.006) groups were associated with increased HF hospitalizations. This association persisted when considering myocardial infarction (MI) as a competing risk. NAFLD and EAT volume were not associated with HF. CONCLUSIONS: In patients without established ASCVD and LDL-C≥190 mg/dL, CAC was independently associated with increased HF hospitalizations while TAC, NAFLD, and EAT were not.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)e403-e412
JournalJournal of Clinical Lipidology
Volume18
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2024

Keywords

  • ASCVD
  • Atherosclerosis
  • CAC
  • Calcium Score
  • Computed Tomography
  • HF
  • Thoracic aorta calcification

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