Baseline characteristics of the patients by LDL-C level and lipid-lowering treatment in the propensity score matching cohorts
| Characteristics | LDL-C <2.6 mmol/L without lipid-lowering treatment (N=317) | LDL-C <2.6 mmol/L with lipid-lowering treatment (N=317) | P value | LDL-C ≥2.6 mmol/L without lipid-lowering treatment (N=832) | LDL-C ≥2.6 mmol/L with lipid-lowering treatment (N=832) | P value |
| Age (year), median (IQR) | 62.3 (54.8–71.5) | 63.4 (55.4–72.3) | 0.43 | 61.9 (54.8–71.5) | 62.6 (55.0–70.9) | 0.81 |
| Male, n (%) | 233 (73.5) | 231 (72.9) | 0.86 | 547 (65.7) | 539 (64.8) | 0.68 |
| Medical history, n (%) | ||||||
| Ischaemic stroke | 58 (18.3) | 58 (18.3) | >0.99 | 160 (19.2) | 158 (19.0) | 0.90 |
| TIA | 14 (4.4) | 12 (3.8) | 0.9 | 21 (2.5) | 20 (2.4) | 0.87 |
| Myocardial infarction | 5 (1.6) | 7 (2.2) | 0.56 | 14 (1.7) | 13 (1.6) | 0.85 |
| Angina | 8 (2.5) | 8 (2.5) | >0.99 | 21 (2.5) | 23 (2.8) | 0.76 |
| Congestive heart failure | 5 (1.6) | 4 (1.3) | >0.99 | 11 (1.3) | 11 (1.3) | >0.99 |
| Known atrial fibrillation or flutter | 7 (2.2) | 6 (1.9) | 0.78 | 14 (1.7) | 14 (1.7) | >0.99 |
| Valvular heart disease | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.3) | >0.99 | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | >0.99 |
| Hypertension | 199 (62.8) | 210 (66.2) | 0.36 | 545 (65.5) | 550 (66.1) | 0.80 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 60 (18.9) | 58 (18.3) | 0.84 | 167 (20.1) | 170 (20.4) | 0.85 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 33 (10.4) | 35 (11.0) | 0.80 | 87 (10.5) | 91 (10.9) | 0.75 |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 0.66 | 0.99 | ||||
| Never smoking | 163 (51.4) | 174 (54.9) | 481 (57.8) | 484 (58.2) | ||
| Previous smoker | 42 (13.2) | 37 (11.7) | 80 (9.6) | 79 (9.5) | ||
| Current smoker | 112 (35.3) | 106 (33.4) | 271 (32.6) | 269 (32.3) | ||
| Index event, n (%) | 0.48 | 0.86 | ||||
| Minor stroke | 224 (70.7) | 232 (73.2) | 626 (75.2) | 629 (75.6) | ||
| TIA | 93 (29.3) | 85 (26.8) | 206 (24.8) | 203 (24.4) | ||
| NIHSS score on admission, median (IQR) | 1.0 (0.0–2.0) | 2.0 (0.0–2.0) | 0.26 | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–2) | 0.80 |
| Time to randomisation (hour), median (IQR) | 10.5 (6.0–18.3) | 11.0 (6.0–18.5) | 0.62 | 11.4 (6.3–19.0) | 11.4 (6.5–19.0) | 1.00 |
| Antiplatelet therapy, n (%) | 0.87 | 0.77 | ||||
| Aspirin only | 158 (49.8) | 160 (50.5) | 406 (48.8) | 412 (49.5) | ||
| Clopidogrel+aspirin | 159 (50.2) | 157 (49.5) | 426 (51.2) | 420 (50.5) | ||
| Antihypertensive therapy, n (%) | 114 (36.0) | 118 (37.2) | 0.74 | 382 (45.9) | 383 (46.0) | 0.96 |
| Antidiabetic therapy, n (%) | 35 (11.0) | 32 (10.1) | 0.70 | 124 (14.9) | 122 (14.7) | 0.89 |
| Baseline LDL-C (mg/dL), median (IQR) | 81.6 (69.2–91.6) | 82.3 (68.4–92.8) | 0.73 | 135.3 (116.9–161.2) | 135.3 (118.7–159.9) | 0.62 |
LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health stroke scale; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.