ESC 23 — Dr Myeong-Ki Hong (Yonsei University College of Medicine, KR) outlines the late-breaking results from the LODESTAR trial (NCT02579499).

LODESTAR (Yonsei University) was a randomized, open-label multicenter trial that aimed to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of atorvastatin vs rosuvastatin for the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease. 4400 coronary artery disease patients were enrolled in the trial and were randomized to receive either high-potent statin therapy or LDL-C goal statin therapy.

Previously, no data had compared results in patients treated with atorvastatin to those who had been treated with rosuvastatin. Results suggest that clinical outcomes were similar between both groups of patients. Rates of LDL-C were significantly lower in the rosuvastatin group, but this drug also carried a higher risk of new-onset diabetes compared to atorvastatin treatment.

Questions: 

1. What is the importance of this study?
2. What do the current guidelines, specifically the 2013 ACC/AHA guideline recommend?
3. What was the study design and the baseline characteristics of the patients?
4. What were the key findings presented at ESC?
5. What are the benefits of the treat-to-target strategy?
6. What are take-home messages for patient care?
7. How should these results influence guidelines?

Recorded on-site at ESC Congress 2023, Amsterdam. 

Editors: Mirjam Boros and Jordan Rance

Video Specialists: Dan Brent, Tom Green, Mike Knight, Oliver Miles