Med. praxi. 2019;16(1):36-42 [Interní Med. 2018; 20(4): 171-176]

Why do we fail when treating dyslipidemia?

MUDr. Tereza Altschmiedová, prof. MUDr. Michal Vrablík, Ph.D.

Centrum preventivní kardiologie, III. interní klinika VFN a 1. LF UK, Praha

Dyslipidemia represents a risk factor in many diseases, of which atherosclerosis is considered to be the most serious cause of the later development of cardiovascular disease, which is still the most significant cause of death worldwide. At present, almost nobody disputes the treatment of dyslipidemias as an effective means of preventing cardiovascular disease. Its basis in all patients is non-pharmacological, with the drug of first choice being statins, for the benefits and the safety of which we have long-term evidence. However, in order that the treatment of dyslipidemias achieves its goal of decreasing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, it is necessary to reach the target LDL-cholesterol levels which are determined by the overall cardiovascular risk. This happens in practice only in a small percentage of patients, however. The causes of this failure are many, but, on the other hand, we have a number of possibilities to reverse this unfavourable trend.

Keywords: dyslipidemia, LDL-cholesterol, statins, statin intolerance, adherence, PCSK9 inhibitors

Received: June 23, 2017; Accepted: June 27, 2017; Published: February 25, 2019  Show citation