title: Updated cholesterol guidelines and intensity of statin therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In November 2013, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released new cholesterol guidelines. Implications of these new guidelines for statin prescription remain uncertain, particularly in individuals already on statin therapy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our objective was to examine the impact of the guidelines on the intensity of statin therapy at a large academic medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  We queried the electronic health record at the University of Pennsylvania Health System to evaluate current practice patterns at a large academic institution in patients already on statin therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 40,036 statin-treated patients, 47% of patients may warrant an intensification of statin therapy according to the updated national cholesterol guidelines.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings highlight the magnitude of potential changes in statin prescription patterns favoring higher potency statin therapy, a sizable shift that parallels the predicted increase in statin initiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Electronic address: Vincent.Nguyen@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Emil M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: deGoma
authors.affiliation: Data Analytics Center, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Douglas S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jacoby
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: ACC/AHA cholesterol guidelines; Atherosclerosis; Cholesterol; Prevention; Statin intensity