Managing the lipid profile of coronary heart disease patients

Introduction: Lipid profile management is even more critical in patients treated for secondary prevention, since patients with established coronary heart disease are at higher risk of developing events. Current guidelines encourage lifestyle modification and patient engagement in disease prevention. However, the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines seem to differ considerably from their predecessors, having an impact on clinical practice of lipid management.

Area covered: This review article discusses and provides a summary of the current recommendations for lipid profile management in patients with coronary heart disease, with a view to present lifestyle modification and novel treatment strategies, and to indicate areas of dispute among recent guidelines.

Expert commentary: Existing controversies between current guidelines concerning treatment goals and therapeutic decisions may have potential implications on the clinical management of patients. In the meantime, we eagerly wait for the results of randomized controlled trials evaluating promising, potent, safe and prolonged drugs that are in progress.