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What the Guidelines Do Not Say: Statin Non-benefit Groups

  • Statin Drugs (BS Wiggins, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for management of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk identified four groups of adults (40–75 years of age) with significant evidence for benefit from statin therapy: presence of clinical ASCVD or diabetes, age ≥21 years and LDL-C >190 mg/dl, and 10-year risk of hard ASCVD events ≥7.5 % as determined by the new Cardiovascular Risk Calculator. However, clinicians are faced daily with at-risk patients who do not clearly match one of these statin-benefit groups. Understanding the limitations of available evidence and awareness of additional published guidelines for statin non-benefit groups will help practitioners make personalized decisions with patients and inform the clinician-patient discussion regarding potential risks and benefits of statin therapy.

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Conflict of Interest

Pamela Morris serves on the advisory board to Astra Zeneca and received honoraria from Astra Zeneca, Genzyme, and Aegerion.

Kellie McLain received payment for the development of educational presentations including service on speakers’ bureaus from Liposcience.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Medical University of South Carolina, 25 Courtenay Drive, MSC 592, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA

    Pamela B. Morris & Kellie McLain

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Correspondence to Pamela B. Morris.

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Morris, P.B., McLain, K. What the Guidelines Do Not Say: Statin Non-benefit Groups. Curr Atheroscler Rep 17, 468 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-014-0468-3

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