Impact of Implementation of a Region-Wide Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Management Clinical Pathway for the Secondary Prevention of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: Aggressive lipid-lowering therapy is important for secondary prevention of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The recommended target for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of <70 mg/dL is often not achieved. To address this gap, we implemented a clinical pathway in all hospitals that perform percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) with primary care physicians in Nagasaki and aimed to validate the effectiveness of this pathway in an acute setting.

Methods and Results: This retrospective cohort study included medical records extracted from 8 hospitals in Nagasaki, Japan, where PCI was performed for patients with AMI. The index date was defined as the date of hospitalization for AMI between July 1, 2021, and February 28, 2023. The primary outcome was the rate of achieving LDL-C <70 mg/dL at discharge. The median baseline LDL-C level at admission was 121 mg/dL (n=226) in the pre-implementation group and 116 mg/dL (n=163) in the post-implementation group. In the post-implementation group, 131 patients were treated using the clinical pathway. The rate of achieving LDL-C <70 mg/dL at discharge increased significantly from 37.2% before implementation to 54.6% after implementation. Logistic regression analysis revealed a positive correlation between the implementation of the clinical pathway and achieving LDL-C <70 mg/dL.

Conclusions: Implementation of a region-wide clinical pathway for LDL-C management significantly improved the rate of intensive lipid-lowering therapy and the achievement of LDL-C targets.