Control of cardiovascular risk factors in a vascular retinopathy population and its long-term impact

Abstract

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Control of cardiovascular risk factors is the cornerstone of secondary prevention. However, in patients with retinopathy of vascular etiology (hypertensive, diabetic or atherosclerotic) the benefit of stricter control of lipid in the long term has been little studied. Methods Prospective study of a cohort of 107 patients who underwent fundus and coronary angiography, of which 42 (39.3%) required percutaneous revascularization. During the follow-up, new cardiovascular events and analytical control of cardiovascular risk factors were recorded. Results Mean age was 75.19 ± 11.53 years. 60.7% were men, 78.5% were hypertensive, 32.7% were diabetic, and dyslipidemia was observed in 57%. Initially, 28% had 1-vessel disease, 14% 2-vessel, 8.4% 3-vessel, and 3.8% left common trunk. 0.9% had diabetic retinopathy, 3.7% had hypertensive retinopathy, 1.9% atherosclerotic, 70.1% had a combination of hypertensive and atherosclerotic retinopathy, and 7.5% signs compatible with all types. Initial and final mean values of LDL-c and HDL-c by type of retinopathy are in Table 1. During follow-up, a significant improvement in LDL-c and HDL-c levels was observed in total patients and in patients with hypertensive and atherosclerotic retinopathy, however globally lipid control was poor and only 18.9% of the total of the sample reached the recommended levels for very high-risk people (<55 LDL-C). Advanced hypertensive retinopathy patients with a greater reduction in LDL-C during follow-up, recorded lower mortality (p = 0.004). Besides, patients with previous percutaneous revascularization showed a greater decrease in LDL levels at the end of follow-up (69.5 ± 26.1 vs 103 ± 41.47; p <0.001); without significant changes in the rest of parameters. Conclusions In patients with vascular etiology retinopathy, long-term lipid control is poor. However, patients with hypertensive retinopathy and a greater reduction in LDL-c had lower long-term mortality. Hypertensive retinopathy Initial Final Sig. LDL-Cholesterol (mg / dl) 102,8+/-35,5 75,65+/-28,9 <0,001 HDL-Cholesterol (mg / dl) 42,1+/-10,3 43,46+/-13,1 0,04 Atherosclerotic retinopathy LDL-Cholesterol (mg / dl) 101,2+/-36,8 79,8+/-32,98 <0,001 HDL-Cholesterol (mg / dl) 42,8+/-11,6 45,73+/-13,9 0,03 Diabetic retinopathy LDL-Cholesterol (mg / dl) 89,1+/-35,8 69,8+/-18 0,73 HDL-Cholesterol (mg / dl) 35,2+/-8,7 31,51+/-12,7 0,73