An Expert Panel convened by the National Lipid Association previously developed a consensus set of recommendations for the patient-centered management of dyslipidemia in clinical medicine (part 1). These were guided by the principle that reducing elevated levels of atherogenic cholesterol (non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) reduces the risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This document represents a continuation of the National Lipid Association recommendations developed by a diverse panel of experts who examined the evidence base and provided recommendations regarding the following topics: (1) lifestyle therapies; (2) groups with special considerations, including children and adolescents, women, older patients, certain ethnic and racial groups, patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus, patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and patients with residual risk despite statin and lifestyle therapies; and (3) strategies to improve patient outcomes by increasing adherence and using team-based collaborative care.
C ardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and premature mortality in women and men in the United States, most of the industrialized world, and many developing countries. 1 Data accumulated over the past 3 decades indicate that atherosclerotic-CVD processes begin early in childhood and are influenced over the life course by genetic and potentially modifiable risk factors and environmental exposures. Taken together, these data provide compelling evidence for primary prevention of CVD beginning early in childhood. Within the pediatric healthcare community, this evidence has prompted and informed the development of science-based guidelines with recommendations for individual/high-risk and population-based approaches to primary prevention of CVD in children and youth. The purpose of this statement is to provide an overview of the evidence and current science-based recommendations and to emphasize the role of advanced practice nurses in the implementation of strategies consistent with population-based and individual/high-risk approaches to CVD prevention in children and youth.
Evidence for CVD Prevention in ChildhoodEvidence-based guidelines for primary and secondary prevention of CVD in adults are informed by the results of randomized controlled trials. The existing evidence (discussed below) argues convincingly for prevention of CVD beginning early in childhood. It is noteworthy that data from randomized controlled trials documenting the effect of risk reduction in childhood on the development of CVD in adulthood are nonexistent. Similarly, no long-term longitudinal studies have been conducted to determine the absolute levels of risk factors measured in childhood that predict CVD in adult life. However, evidence from laboratory, clinical, and epidemiological studies supports the need for primary prevention of CVD beginning early in life and has prompted and informed existing guidelines for children and adolescents.
Laboratory/Pathology and In Vivo/Clinical StudiesAutopsy studies conducted as part of the Bogalusa Heart Study 2,3 and the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) Study 4,5 demonstrate significant positive associations between potentially modifiable CVD risk factors and the presence and extent of atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta and coronary arteries. [2][3][4][5] In the pathology component of the Bogalusa Heart Study, a long-term epidemiological study of risk factors for CVD in a biracial (black-white) population, risk factors were measured in free-living, healthy children and adolescents before death from non-CVD causes. 2,3 The PDAY study quantified risk factors by analyses of postmortem blood samples obtained at autopsy from Ϸ3000 persons 15 to 34 years of age who died from external causes, including accidents and homicides. 4,5 The American Heart Association makes every effort to avoid any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of an outside relationship or a personal, professional, or business interest of a member of the w...
The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors or monoclonal antibodies likely represent the greatest advance in lipid management in 30 years. In 2015 the US Food and Drug Administration approved both alirocumab and evolocumab for high‐risk patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease requiring additional lowering of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol. Though many lipid specialists, cardiovascular disease prevention experts, endocrinologists, and others prescribed the drugs on label, they found their directives denied 80% to 90% of the time. The high frequency of denials prompted the American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC), to gather multiple stakeholder organizations including the American College of Cardiology, National Lipid Association, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), and FH Foundation for 2 town hall meetings to identify access issues and implement viable solutions. This article reviews findings recognized and solutions suggested by experts during these discussions. The article is a product of the ASPC, along with each author writing as an individual and endorsed by the AACE.
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