Frequency of congestive heart failure in older persons with prior myocardial infarction and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥125 mg/dl treated with statins versus no lipid-lowering drug

In an observational prospective study of 1,410 persons (mean age 81 +/- 9 years) with prior myocardial infarction and a serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of greater than or equal to125 mg/dl, 679 persons (48%) were treated with statins and 731 (52%) with no lipid-lowering drugs. At 36-month follow-up, the stepwise Cox regression model showed that significant independent predictors of congestive heart failure were age (risk ratio = 1.05 for a l-year increase in age), cigarette smoking (risk ratio = 3.2), systemic hypertension (risk ratio = 3.4), diabetes mellitus (risk ratio = 3.7), initial serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (risk ratio = 1.01 for each 1-mg/dl increase), initial serum high-density Lipoprotein cholesterol (risk ratio = 0.96 for each 1-mg/dl increase), and use of statins (risk ratio = 0.52).