Improving Outcomes for People with Post-Acute Coronary Syndrome

• 93% of patients received lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) during hospitalization, but  

• a third (34%) did not receive high-intensity statin therapy at discharge  

• the 75% of patients who were not at LDL-C goal after first follow-up did not receive any add-on lipid-lowering treatment  

These findings led to the development of the Wave 2 self-assessment tool.³

• Wave 2:  

  • Self-Assessment Tool – Co-created with healthcare professionals (HCPs), to evaluate current clinical practice against current European guidelines. To identify strengths and weaknesses and support HCPs in optimizing post-ACS lipid management³ 

  • Country Pathway Models – Concrete European examples of ACS lipid management optimization with good patient outcomes, that could be replicated to help optimize post-ACS lipid management⁴ 

• Wave 3: Additional General Practitioner (GP) & ACS Patient Surveys – To build on initial cardiologists’ insights. Based on survey results, international experts and clinicians identified areas of improvement and generated prototype solutions to address the areas²    

Identifying and prioritizing areas for improvement  

Eight country pathway models were identified building on previous initiatives that could be replicated across Europe to help optimize post-ACS lipid management.  

These models have been used in Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden, with each country seeing a marked improvement in patient outcomes. For example, in the Netherlands, the PENELOPE protocol, an ESC-guideline-based algorithm, helped 99% of very high-risk ACS patients reach the LDL-C goal 12 weeks post-acute event.⁴  

Five key areas of improvement were identified based on the cardiologist, GP, and ACS patient surveys:  

1. Inappropriate treatment prescribed at discharge  

2. Lack of lipid guidance in the discharge letter  

3. Inadequate LLT optimization 

4. Gaps in guideline knowledge and lack of referral practices for GPs 

5. Patients’ concerns about lipid management 

ACS EuroPath: A blueprint for future optimization 

We are now focusing on further optimizing lipid management in post-ACS patients through the development and implementation of the two solutions identified through the earlier waves, and an additional cardiologist survey conducted more recently. The results will be published in due course.  

“ACS EuroPath reflects our 60-year commitment to the CV community” said Maja Bujas-Bobanovic, Global Medical Franchise Head, Sanofi General Medicines. “Sanofi is dedicated to improving post-ACS patient management beyond medicines with a holistic approach to care. We hope that ACS EuroPath serves as a blueprint for the future optimization of ACS care.”