Epidemiology
Elevated Lp(a) raises hard coronary event risk by 71% in ACS patients aged 80 and older, a study of 536 elderly patients (J Clin Lipidol 2021)
Original title: Lipoprotein (a) is associated with poor long-term prognosis in patients aged 80 years and older with acute coronary syndrome
In 536 patients aged 80 years or older hospitalised for acute coronary syndrome, followed a median 66 months, 89 hard coronary heart disease (CHD) events occurred. Elevated Lp(a), defined using ROC-derived optimal cut-offs, was independently associated with increased risk of hard CHD events (HR 1.714, 95% CI 1.114-2.638), major adverse cardiovascular events (HR 1.354, 95% CI 1.024-1.790), all-cause death (HR 1.804, 95% CI 1.286-2.532), and cardiac death (HR 1.891, 95% CI 1.112-3.217). Adding Lp(a) to the prognostic model for hard CHD events significantly improved the C-statistic (P<0.05). The findings support routine Lp(a) screening to aid prognosis and risk assessment even in this advanced-age acute coronary syndrome population.
Original abstract
Background: Lipoprotein(a) has been suggested as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association of lipoprotein(a) with long-term poor prognosis following acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in advanced-age patients.
Methods: We enrolled 536 patients aged ≥80 years hospitalized for ACS and plasma lipoprotein(a) concentrations were measured at admission. The primary outcomes were hard CHD events (a composite of fatal or non-fatal myocardial infarction, and CHD death). The secondary outcomes included major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), all-cause death and cardiac death.
Results: During a median 66-month follow-up, 89 hard CHD events occurred. The optimal cutoff points of lipoprotein(a) levels were obtained from ROC curve analyses. Kaplan-Meier curves showed a significantly higher cumulative incidence of hard CHD events, MACEs, all-cause death and cardiac death in high lipoprotein(a) group than that in low lipoprotein(a) group. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses revealed that elevated lipoprotein(a) levels were independently associated with an increased risk of hard CHD events [hazard ratio (HR): 1.714, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.114-2.638], MACEs (HR 1.354, 95%CI: 1.024-1.790), all-cause death (HR 1.804, 95%CI: 1.286-2.532) and cardiac death (HR 1.891, 95%CI: 1.112-3.217). Furthermore, adding lipoprotein(a) to the prognostic model for hard CHD events improved the C-statistic value (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Elevated lipoprotein(a) levels were associated with an increased risk of hard CHD events, MACEs, all-cause death and cardiac death in the advanced-age patients with ACS, which indicated that routine screening for lipoprotein(a) might aid prognosis and risk assessment.
Summary written by lp-a.org from the published abstract; figures as published. Page updated 18 August 2026. Methods.