Current perspectives on lipid lowering with statins to decrease risk of cardiovascular disease.
Although guidelines for individual risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) assist the healthcare provider, management of the global risk profile of patients is the optimal means to minimize risk. Regardless of whether patients have one or more risk factors, elevated lipid values are generally considered to be a major contributor to global CVD risk. Therefore, reduction of lipid levels is one of the most effective methods to reduce risk of CVD. The 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitor class of drugs (also known as statins) has documented clinical benefits for reducing the incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke, death from CVD, and total death. Despite widespread acknowledgment of the very favorable benefit-to-risk ratio of the statins, most at-risk patients either are not being treated or are not at the goals defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program.
Hennekens
C H
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Mount Sinai Medical Center-Miami Heart Institute and Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami Beach, Florida 33140, USA. PROFCHHMD@prodigy.net
D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors
D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D008055:Lipids