Enhancing Patient Care Through Guideline Adherence

EP: 1.The Burden of ASCVD and Evidence-Based Guidelines

EP: 2.A Patient’s Post-MI Journey

EP: 3.Improving the Care Continuum

EP: 4.Residual Cardiovascular Risk

EP: 5.Who is an Ideal Patient for Early Intensive Lipid Lowering?

EP: 6.Finding the Optimal Statin Dose

EP: 7.Therapy Beyond Statins in the Inpatient Setting

EP: 8.Using Adjunct Therapies in LDL Management

EP: 9.Ensuring Continuity of Care for the ASCVD Patient

EP: 10.Unmet Needs in Lipid Management

EP: 11.Defining “Optimal Care” for ASCVD Within Health Systems

EP: 12.What Does a Multidisciplinary Team Look Like?

EP: 13.The Future of LDL Management for Patients With High-Risk ASCVD

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EP: 14.Enhancing Patient Care Through Guideline Adherence

EP: 15.Improving Access to PCSK9 Inhibitors in the Inpatient Setting

EP: 16.Appropriate ASCVD Treatment Outside of Closed Health Systems

EP: 17.Utilizing Quality Metrics in ASCVD

EP: 18.Improving Patient and Provider Engagement

EP: 19.Treatment Disparities in the Management of ASCVD

Leandro N. Slipczuk, MD, PhD: It’s important for all providers who are treating patients to understand which patients are at very high risk. And this concept has been evolving over time. When we compare the 2018 ACC/AHA [American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association] guidelines to the more recent European guidelines, we see a trend. We see a trend to identify these very high-risk patients and understand something that has come from recent trials, that patients who have already had ASCVD [atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease] have very high risk. For example, patients who have ASCVD and multiple comorbidities, such as hypertension, CKD [chronic kidney disease], diabetes, smoking, patients who have a phage with ASCVD, patients who have severe chronic kidney disease. For all these patients, the lower we bring their LDL [low-density lipoprotein] cholesterol, the lower the risk. And the sooner we do this, also, the lower the risk.

Understanding this, the newer guidelines have switched to identify these very high-risk patients and recommending an LDL below 55 [mg/dL]. This is a transition from the prior guidelines from 2018 that identified less than 70 [mg/dL], to go even further, less than 55 [mg/dL]. If we have recurrent events in patients who are below 55 [mg/dL], the recommendation is to consider below 40 [mg/dL]. We know now that it’s safe and we know that it’s achievable, and we have the tools for it. I think this has been a great transition in the guidelines in keeping up with the data from clinical trials.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.