Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in older people. In spite of the higher absolute risk in older patients, plasma lipids lose their ability to predict the development of ASCVD along with ageing, especially over 80 years old. However, lipid-lowering agents like statins can significantly inhibit the development of ASCVD in older patients as well as in younger patients. Current consensus about the lipid-lowering treatment in older patients is that we should treat early old patients (75 years old and younger) with or without ASCVD and in patients more than 75 years old with ASCVD as in the non-elderly by taking care of the drug-induced adverse effects. However, the treatment of the oldest patients without ASCVD with statins should be individualized and the statin treatment for those over 85 years old is under discretion of the physician.
Lipid-Lowering Agents That Cause Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity