Results:

At baseline, 60% of patients were asymptomatic and 28% had atypical chest pain, which were similar at follow-up. Mean age was 62 years, 57% were male, 65% had hypertension, 20% were smokers, 5% had a history of percutaneous coronary intervention, and 5% a stroke. Using National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Program III risk, 55% were low, 32% intermediate, and 13% high risk. Forty patients were not started on statins, 55 were initiated or had an increased dose, and 41 remained on the same dose. At follow-up, the LDL-C was 57 mg/dl in the group with LDL-C <70 mg/dl and 104 mg/dl when ≥70 mg/dl. A greater percent of on-treatment LDL-C <70 mg/dl was seen in diabetics and with an increasing number of risk factors. The mean annual plaque volume progression rate was 3.63 ± 5.83%. Patients with LDL-C <70 mg/dl displayed a significant attenuation in plaque progression as compared with those with follow-up LDL-C levels ≥70 mg/dl (12.7 ± 38.2 mm³ vs. 44.2 ± 73.6 mm³, respectively; p = 0.014). In multivariate analysis, the only factor significantly influencing plaque progression per year was follow-up LDL-C levels ≥70 mg/dl (beta 0.195; p = 0.021).