EPCCS 2018 A recording of the lecture by Prof. Visseren, on practical issues of managing elevated lipids and statins: why do many patients not take their medication, and how can we improve this?

A Google-driven nocebo effect may underlie statin intolerance, as countries with many websites on statin side-effects showed a higher prevalence of statin intolerance.

Based on objective and critical appraisal of the literature on potential adverse effects of statins, the EAS Consensus Panel concludes that statin treatment is remarkably safe.

A model assuming 100% adherence to maximal statin dose showed that only 10% of heFH patients with CHD would reach guideline-recommended LDL-c goal, and about half of those without CHD.

Early benefit should not be expected with all lipid-lowering drugs, and the lack of outcome curve separation up to 30 months does not preclude eventual benefit.

In a large community-based database, in patients with peripheral artery disease, statin therapy was associated with a significant reduction of amputations and mortality compared with no statin use.

EPCCS 2018 Slides prepared and presented byProf. Frank Visseren (Utrecht, The Netherlands), here offered as an educational service.

EPCCS 2018 An impression of the presentation of Prof. Frank Visseren on the evidence, the guidelines and the clinical reality of lipid-lowering therapies, given during the Annual EPCCS CV Summit.

ACC 2018 Dr. Valentin Fuster explains why he thinks that the results with the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab can change clinical practice. In the results he also sees the message that LDL levels now considered normal, may actually be too high.

ACC 2018 Prof. Gabriel Steg discusses the 15% reduction of MACE obtained with alirocumab, with a good safety profile. The observed CV benefit was greater in patients who had a higher LDL-c at baseline.

Defining statin eligibility based on the predicted CV benefit, rather than the absolute CV risk, shifts statin eligibility to more intermediate CV risk subjects.

ACC 2018 Treatment with alirocumab on top of high-intensity statins lowered MACE by 15% in patients with recent ACS in the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial and was associated with a lower rate of all-cause death.