Cholesterol Management Clinical Practice Guidelines in US

Recommendations on management of blood cholesterol were released in November 2018 by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association have been published. 

The guideline's top 10 key recommendations for reducing the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease through cholesterol management include:

Emphasise a heart-healthy lifestyle across the life course of all individuals.

In patients with clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels with high-intensity statin therapy or the maximally tolerated statin therapy.

In individuals with very high-risk ASCVD, use an LDL-C threshold of 70 mg/dL (1.8 mmol/L) to consider the addition of nonstatins to statin therapy.

In patients with severe primary hypercholesterolemia (LDL-C level ≥190 mg/dL [≥4.9 mmol/L]), without calculating the 10-year ASCVD risk, begin high-intensity statin therapy.

Cholesterol Management Clinical Practice Guidelines in the US (2018)