Veterans who participated in a quality improvement program to treat heart and blood vessel disease experienced reductions in LDL, or “bad”, cholesterol, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2025, held Nov. 7–10, in New Orleans.
Researchers analyzed 83,232 veterans enrolled in the VALOR-QI program with an average age of 70 across 50 VA health care sites. Participants had prevalent Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD), LDL cholesterol of 70 mg/dL or higher at baseline and had another measurement of LDL cholesterol during the program. The quality improvement program they participated in utilized healthcare coaches, multidisciplinary teams, engagement lists for at-risk veterans, improved medication prescribing practices, and health information and resources about cholesterol and lifestyle management.
Results found that 32% of participants reduced their LDL cholesterol levels below 70 mg/dL during the program, and among those who were in the program for at least two years and had a second LDL cholesterol measurement, 33.5% achieved the LDL cholesterol goal. Among patients 75 and older, 36% achieved LDL cholesterol levels less than 70 mg/dL. There was also a 15.9 mg/dL reduction in LDL cholesterol among all participants.
“Many tools and strategies used in VALOR-QI were simple, inexpensive and accessible to clinicians and patients at each point of care,” study author Luc Djoussé, MD, a research health scientist at Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Collaborative (MAVERIC), the Boston VA Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said. “This is important for sustainability within the VA system and could lead to adoption of these strategies throughout the vast VA system and also non-VA health care systems.”