Lipid-lowering Drugs

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 494-506
Author(s):  
Melinda M. Milander ◽  
Merrily Kuhn

Controlling hyperlipidemia is an important aspect in the treatment and prevention of coronary artery disease. This article provides the clinician with a general reference for currently used lipid-lowering agents. Lipoproteins present in the plasma are defined and a brief overview of their functions is presented. Normal lipid uptake from the intestine and normal lipid metabolism are discussed to provide a basis for an understanding of the pharmaceutical treatment of hyperlipidemia. Guidelines are reviewed for interpreting lipid profiles according to the National Cholesterol Education Program. An evaluation of the agents currently used to treat hyperlipidemia is included. Lipid-lowering agents cause alterations in liver function; therefore, patients taking these medications are monitored closely. Patient teaching, including adverse effects of the medications, diet therapy and other alterable risk factors, is also reviewed

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (20) ◽  
pp. 4708
Author(s):  
Silvia Calabria ◽  
Giulia Ronconi ◽  
Letizia Dondi ◽  
Carlo Piccinni ◽  
Enrico Cinconze ◽  
...  

Background: This study describes patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who are eligible for secondary prevention and assesses their healthcare consumption and costs from the perspective of the Italian National Health Service (INHS). Methods: From the Fondazione Ricerca e Salute’s database, which collects Italian healthcare administrative data, all patients aged ≥ 35, with ≥1 primary in-hospital CAD diagnosis and/or procedure on the coronary arteries, or with the specific disease exemption code, and who are suitable for long-term secondary prevention treatments, were identified in 2018 and analyzed. Demographics, comorbidities, one-year supplied drugs, hospitalizations, and costs were analyzed. Results: From >3 million inhabitants aged ≥ 35, 46,063 (1.3%) were identified (72.1% males, mean age 70 ± 12; approximately 50% with ≥3 comorbidities). During a one-year follow-up, 96.4% were treated with ≥1 drug for secondary prevention (mainly antiplatelets and lipid lowering agents), 69.4% with ≥1 concomitant cardiovascular drug, and 95.8% with ≥1 concomitant non-cardiovascular therapy. Within one year, 30.6% of patients were hospitalized at least once, mostly due to non-cardiovascular events. Calculated by mean, the INHS paid EUR 6078 per patient. Conclusions: This analysis confirms the relevant burden of CAD for patients with many comorbidities and who are frequently hospitalized, and the burden on the INHS. A multidisciplinary healthcare approach is encouraged to improve patients’ outcomes and reduce costs for the INHS.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (46) ◽  
pp. 7027-7039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia Vogiatzi ◽  
Evangelos Oikonomou ◽  
Gerasimos Siasos ◽  
Sotiris Tsalamandris ◽  
Alexandros Briasoulis ◽  
...  

Background: Chronic inflammation and immune system activation underlie a variety of seemingly unrelated cardiac conditions including not only atherosclerosis and the subsequent coronary artery disease but also peripheral artery disease, hypertension with target organ damage and heart failure. The beneficial effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors or statins are mainly attributed to their ability to inhibit hepatic cholesterol biosynthesis. Beyond their lipid lowering activity, ample evidence exists in support of their potent anti-inflammatory properties which initiate from the inhibition of GTPase isoprenylation, activating a cataract of secondary pathways and extend to the inhibition and blocking of immune cell activation and interaction. </P><P> Objective: To summarize the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of statins in clinical and experimental settings in cardiovascular disease. </P><P> Methods: A systematic search of PubMed and the Cochrane Database was conducted in order to identify the majority of trials, studies, current guidelines and novel articles related to the subject. </P><P> Results: In vitro, statins have immuno-modulatory and anti-inflammatory effects, and they can exert antiatherosclerotic effects independently of their hypolipidemic actions. In addition, positive results have emerged from mechanistic and experimental studies on the active role of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors in HF. By extrapolating those data in clinical setting, we further understand how HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors can beneficially affect not only systolic but also diastolic HF. </P><P> Conclusion: In this review article, we present the basic pathophysiologic data supporting the anti-inflammatory actions of statins in clinical and experimental settings and we link these mechanisms with confirmatory clinical data on the potent non lipid lowering effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermann Yao ◽  
Michel Farnier ◽  
Laura Tribouillard ◽  
Frédéric Chague ◽  
Philippe Brunel ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Although patients with familial heterozygous hypercholesterolemia (FH) have a high risk of early myocardial infarction (MI), the coronary artery disease (CAD) burden in FH patients with acute MI remains to be investigated. Methods The data for all consecutive patients hospitalized in 2012–2019 for an acute MI and who underwent coronary angiography were collected from a multicenter database (RICO database). FH (n = 120) was diagnosed using Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria (score ≥ 6). We compared the angiographic features of MI patients with and without FH (score 0–2) (n = 234) after matching for age, sex, and diabetes (1:2). Results Although LDL-cholesterol was high (208 [174–239] mg/dl), less than half of FH patients had chronic statin treatment. When compared with non-FH patients, FH increased the extent of CAD (as assessed by SYNTAX score; P = 0.005), and was associated with more frequent multivessel disease (P = 0.004), multiple complex lesions (P = 0.022) and significant stenosis location on left circumflex and right coronary arteries. Moreover, FH patients had more multiple lesions, with an increased rate of bifurcation lesions or calcifications (P = 0.021 and P = 0.036, respectively). In multivariate analysis, LDL-cholesterol levels (OR 1.948; 95% CI 1.090–3.480, P = 0.024) remained an independent estimator of anatomical complexity of coronary lesions, in addition to age (OR 1.035; 95% CI 1.014–1.057, P = 0.001). Conclusions FH patients with acute MI had more severe CAD, characterized by complex anatomical features that are mainly dependent on the LDL-cholesterol burden. Our findings reinforce the need for more aggressive preventive strategies in these high-risk patients, and for intensive lipid-lowering therapy as secondary prevention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Ogawa ◽  
H Sekiguchi ◽  
K Jujo ◽  
E Kawada-Watanabe ◽  
H Arashi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There are limited data on the effects of blood pressure (BP) control and lipid lowering in secondary prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. We report a secondary analysis of the effects of BP control and lipid management in participants of the HIJ-CREATE, a prospective randomized trial. Methods HIJ-CREATE was a multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled trial that compared the effects of candesartan-based therapy with those of non-ARB-based standard therapy on major adverse cardiac events (MACE; a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina, heart failure, stroke, and other cardiovascular events requiring hospitalization) in 2,049 hypertensive patients with angiographically documented CAD. In both groups, titration of antihypertensive agents was performed to reach the target BP of &lt;130/85 mmHg. The primary endpoint was the time to first MACE. Incidence of endpoint events in addition to biochemistry tests and office BP was determined during the scheduled 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60-month visits. Achieved systolic BP and LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C) level were defined as the mean values of these measurements in patients who did not develop MACEs and as the mean values of them prior to MACEs in those who developed MACEs during follow-up. Results During a median follow-up of 4.2 years (follow-up rate of 99.6%), the primary outcome occurred in 304 patients (30.3%). Among HIJ-CREATE participants, 905 (44.2%) were prescribed statins on enrollment. Kaplan–Meier curves for the primary outcome revealed that there was no relationship between statin therapy and MACEs in hypertensive patients with CAD. The original HIJ-CREATE population was divided into 9 groups based on equal tertiles based on mean achieved BP and LDL-C during follow-up. For the analysis of subgroups, estimates of relative risk and the associated 95% CIs were generated with a Cox proportional-hazards model (Figure 1). The relation between LDL cholesterol level and hazard ratios for MACEs was nonlinear, with a significant increase of MACEs only in the patients with inadequate controlled LDL-C level even in the patients with tightly controlled BP. Conclusions The results of the post-hoc analysis of the HIJ-CREATE suggest that clinicians should pay careful attention to conduct comprehensive management of lipid lowering even in the contemporary BP lowering for the secondary prevention in hypertensive patients with CAD. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


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