Updates on Blood Cholesterol: Applying New Guidelines to Clinical Practice

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US. While tools have been developed to identify patients at increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), these instruments are not always used in clinical practice. To improve the identification of at-risk patients, in late 2018 the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) jointly published guidelines for the use of risk-assessment tools.

In November 2018, the AHA, ACC, and other partnering associations also released a “Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol” to provide updated clinical recommendations for the management of elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), a major contributor to ASCVD.This document provided strategies for primary and secondary prevention of ASCVD, along with approaches for modifying therapy in patients who are not achieving their LDL-C goals.

This activity, Updates on Blood Cholesterol: Applying New Guidelines to Clinical Practice, will review these recent evidence-based recommendations and updates, as well as providing information about non-statin agents recommended for use when patients are not at LDL-C goal.