The role of diet and exercise in the statin era.
Coronary atherosclerosis begins to develop in late adolescence and early adulthood. If intervention in coronary risk factors is delayed until middle-age, it is likely that a considerable number of patients will be lost to irreversible disease. Even with the dramatic cholesterol lowering that can be induced by statin drugs, coronary events can be reduced by only 25% to 40%, leaving most at-risk patients unprotected. Diet, exercise, and other nonpharmacological interventions have a role in the age of statins, not only to augment the effects of these drugs in high-risk patients, but also, by preventing atherogenesis in the first place, to reduce the number of at-risk patients.
LaRosa
J C
JC
Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004035:Diet Therapy; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008148:Lovastatin / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008148:Lovastatin