Statins at the Primary Care Level

Overview

Hypercholesterolemia, a major cause of disease burden in both the developed and developing world, is estimated to cause 2.6 million deaths annually (4.5% of all deaths) and one third of ischemic heart diseases., and result in 29.7 million DALY lost. In Argentina, the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia increased between 2005 and 2013 from 27.9% to 29.8%, whereas the rate of non-optimal LDL-C, was 28.0%. The rate of high cholesterol awareness was 37.3 % and the proportion of those who are under pharmacological treatment was dismally low: only 11.1%. Furthermore, only one out of four subjects with a self-reported diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD) is taking statins. and most individuals with CHD who are on statins have sub-optimal LDL-C levels. Although other antihypertensive, antidiabetic and low-dose aspirin were available free-of-charge at the primary care clinics of the public sector, statins had not been included until recently. As of 2014, statins (simvastatin 20mg) were incorporated into the package of drugs provided free-of-charge for patients with high cholesterol, according to CVD risk stratification. The goal of this study is to test whether a multifaceted educational intervention targeting physicians and pharmacist assistants, improves detection, treatment and control of hypercholesterolemia among uninsured patients with moderate to high cardiovascular risk in Argentina. Specifically, the intervention will test whether a multifaceted educational intervention program lowers LDL-cholesterol levels and CVD risk in moderate to high cardiovascular risk patients, improves physician compliance with clinical practice guidelines, and improves patient care management and adherence to medication. A cost-effectiveness study will be conducted to compare the intervention to the usual standard of care. This randomized cluster trial will enroll 350 patients from 10 public primary care clinics who will be assigned to receive either the intervention or the usual care. This study is timely and will generate urgently needed data on effective and, practical and sustainable intervention programs aimed at the prevention and control of CVD risk that can be directly used in other primary care settings and health care systems in LMICs.