title: Statin therapy in Canadian patients with hypercholesterolemia: the Canadian Lipid Study -- Observational (CALIPSO).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although statins are widely used to reduce low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), there is little information about patient profiles, treatment patterns and goal achievement among statin-treated patients in Canada.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the profile of statin-treated patients and to determine whether they are achieving recommended targets for LDL-C.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Canadian Lipid Study -- Observational (CALIPSO) was a cross-sectional study involving Canadian physicians who were among the top statin prescribers. Each physician enrolled up to 15 patients who were at least 18 years of age with a diagnosis of hyper-cholesterolemia and who had been using a statin for at least eight weeks. Sociodemographics, coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors, pretreatment and current lipid levels, and history of lipid-lowering therapy were reported for 3721 patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-eight per cent of statin-treated patients were at high CAD risk according to the 2003 Canadian guidelines, 46.4% had established cardiovascular disease, 33.9% had diabetes and 59.5% had hypertension. Average LDL-C reductions of 32% (37% for high-risk patients) were initially required to reach goal. At the study visit, patients had been treated for an average of 4.3 years and 24.2% were using a high statin dose. Despite statin therapy, 27.2% of all patients and 36.4% of those at high CAD risk had not achieved LDL-C targets. For 67.4% of these patients, the current therapy was not modified at the study visit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite effective therapies, many treated patients are not achieving recommended LDL-C targets. Strategies should be implemented to promote achievement of lipid treatment goals for high-risk patients, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular events and their associated clinical and economic burdens.
authors.affiliation: McGill University, Montreal, Canada. chantal_bourgault@merck.com
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bourgault
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Davignon
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fodor
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gagné
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gaudet
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Genest
authors.forename: Marc-Andre
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leiter
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McPherson
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sénécal
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marentette
authors.forename: Rolf J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Sebaldt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D015897:Comorbidity; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL