. Epidemiological studies have shown that elevated serum lipid and low-density lipoprotein 568 CEPHEUS studies were conducted in 29 countries across Asia (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam) 23,26) , Western Europe (Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Turkey) 22,27,28) , Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Poland, and Russia) 20) , the Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia) 21,25) , and Africa (Algeria, Egypt. and South Africa) 24) . In each country, the study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee governing each participating center. The surveys were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines for Good Clinical Practice 29) , and all participating patients provided written informed consent before enrolment.Each survey was a single-visit study and recruitment was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, physicians with experience of treating dyslipidaemia were invited to participate. Physicians who agreed to participate were asked to complete a questionnaire about their general attitude toward the diagnosis of hypercholesterolaemia, their perception of existing guidelines, and their knowledge about available treatment options (Supplemental Fig. 1). In the second stage, eligible patients who attended a regular scheduled physician visit were consecutively invited to participate in the study. Patients were eligible to participate if they were ≥ 18 years and had been receiving LLDs for at least 3 months without dose changes for at least 6 weeks. Patients were excluded if they were found to have participated in any interventional clinical study in the preceding 90 days, were unable or unwilling to provide informed consent, or were personally involved in the conduct of the surveys. In all countries except France, before being assessed by the physician, patients also completed a questionnaire, the aim of which was to assess their personal perception of hypercholesterolaemia, their current LLD regimen, their adherence to this regimen, and their satisfaction with the treatment (Supplemental Fig. 2).For each individual, physicians also completed a patient record form, which included information on the patient's demographics, current LLD therapy, and reason for initiating LLD therapy. Physicians also recorded the presence of known CV risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes mellitus, family history of premature coronary heart disease (CHD; defined as having a first-degree relative with clinical CHD or sudden death before the age of 55 years for men or 65 years for women), hypertension (defined as blood pressure cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, in particular, are strongly associated with an increased risk of incident CV disease in many populations worldwide 3, 4) . Most guidelines include the reduction of LDL-C levels as a primary therapeutic target for the reduction o...