title: Achieving National Cholesterol Education Program goals in coronary artery disease.
abstract: National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines recommend low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels <100 mg/dL for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and lipid-lowering therapy if LDL-C remains >100-130 mg/dL after dietary intervention. Studies consistently report that the majority of CAD patients do not achieve NCEP goals in clinical practice; we sought to determine if our practice fared better. We performed a retrospective chart review of 600 CAD patients followed by cardiologists. The mean age was 69, and 66% of patients were male. Of persons with a cardiology clinic lipid profile (60%), most (76%) achieved an LDL-C <100 mg/dL; however, only 61% were treated to the NCEP secondary goal of non-HDL-C <130 mg/dL. Of patients not at an LDL-C goal, 81% were on lipid-lowering therapy, but only 18% were on maximal statin doses and 6% on combination therapy. We concluded that the majority of CAD patients have had recent lipid measurements and are treated according to NCEP guidelines, but many patients remain on suboptimal therapy.
authors.affiliation: The Heart Center, 1160 East 3900 South, Suite 2000, Salt Lake City, UT 84124, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Rondina
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Zebrack
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011336:Probability; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL