Management of LDL improved over last decade

Patients at risk for coronary heart disease are taking heed and lowering their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, researchers said. More than 70% of patients have an LDL cholesterol within target levels, nearly double the percentage in the late 90s, David D. Waters, MD, of the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues reported online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. "Although there is room for improvement, particularly in very high-risk patients, these results indicate that lipid-lowering therapy is being applied much more successfully than it was a decade ago," Dr. Waters said. Many trials have demonstrated that lowering LDL, predominantly with the use of statins, lowers cardiovascular risk. Guidelines have recommended that very high-risk patients achieve a target of less than 70 mg/dL. MedPage Today