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Effect of Alirocumab on Mortality After Acute Coronary Syndromes: An Analysis of the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES Randomized Clinical Trial.
Circulation. 2019 May 23;:
Authors: Steg PG, Szarek M, Bhatt DL, Bittner VA, Brégeault MF, Dalby AJ, Diaz R, Edelberg JM, Goodman SG, Hanotin C, Harrington RA, Jukema JW, Lecorps G, Mahaffey KW, Moryusef A, Ostadal P, Parkhomenko A, Pordy R, Roe MT, Tricoci P, Vogel R, White HD, Zeiher AM, Schwartz GG, ODYSSEY OUTCOMES Committees and Investigators
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Trials of proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors demonstrated reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events, but not death. We assessed the effects of alirocumab on death after index acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
METHODS: ODYSSEY OUTCOMES was a double-blind, randomized comparison of alirocumab or placebo in 18 924 patients who had an ACS 1-12 months previously and elevated atherogenic lipoproteins despite intensive statin therapy. Alirocumab dose was blindly titrated to target achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) between 25 and 50 mg/dL. We examined the effects of treatment on all-cause death and its components, cardiovascular and noncardiovascular death, with log-rank testing. Joint semiparametric models tested associations between nonfatal cardiovascular events and cardiovascular or noncardiovascular death.
RESULTS: Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Death occurred in 334 (3.5%) and 392 (4.1%) patients, respectively, in the alirocumab and placebo groups (hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73 to 0.98; P=0.03, nominal P value). This resulted from nonsignificantly fewer cardiovascular (240 [2.5%] vs 271 [2.9%]; HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.05; P=0.15) and noncardiovascular (94 [1.0%] vs 121 [1.3%]; HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.59 to 1.01; P=0.06) deaths with alirocumab. In a prespecified analysis of 8242 patients eligible for ≥3 years' follow-up, alirocumab reduced death (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.94; P=0.01). Patients with nonfatal cardiovascular events were at increased risk for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular deaths ( P<0.0001 for the associations). Alirocumab reduced total nonfatal cardiovascular events ( P<0.001) and thereby may have attenuated the number of noncardiovascular deaths. A post-hoc analysis found that, compared to patients with lower LDL-C, patients with baseline LDL-C ≥100 mg/dL (2.59 mmol/L) had a greater absolute risk of death and a larger mortality benefit from alirocumab (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56 to 0.90; Pinteraction=0.007). In the alirocumab group, all-cause death declined with achieved LDL-C at 4 months of treatment, to a level of approximately 30 mg/dL (adjusted P=0.017 for linear trend).
CONCLUSIONS: Alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy has the potential to reduce death after ACS, particularly if treatment is maintained for ≥3 years, if baseline LDL-C is ≥100 mg/dL, or if achieved LDL-C is low.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique Identifier: NCT01663402.
PMID: 31117810 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]