Evaluation critique of state of the art dyslipidemia management in general and with a special emphasis on the Indian population.

ABSTRACT

Classically, there have been three well established major cardiovascular risk factors, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and tobacco abuse. With accumulating clinical evidence, diabetes can now be added as a fourth major risk factor. Much interest in various other risk factors and possible causative factors has been generated, but it should be remembered that of all these, low density lipoproteins (LDL) remains the gold standard for evaluating risk. The common perception is that only caucasians in the western world have significant cardiovascular (CV) risk. However, much clinical information to the contrary has accumulated and now it is realized that many other ethnic groups also have significant CV disease, such as in India, especially in the urban population. Dyslipidemias of specific lipoproteins and their treatment is an important part of understanding and managing CV disease and risk. Various plasma factors such as homocysteine and lipoprotein (a) [(a)] have been considered to have definite associations with CV disease, but any treatment benefit remains in doubt. In addition, inflammatory risk factors are considered to be of significant clinical interest, especially high sensitivity C-Reactive protein (hsCRP). Where do these factors fit into routine clinical practice still awaits clarification. Only two of these inflammatory risk (Lp-factors can be tested commercially on a routine clinical basis and these are hsCRP and Lipoprotein-associated Phospholipase A2 Lp-PLA2). Their clinical utillity is not established and acceptance is limited some third party health coverage organizations refuse to pay for such analyses. In the past, women have been looked upon as not having significant CV disease. More recently, evidence suggests that women may have more CV disease than men, and that physicians may have failed to realize this and act accordingly. The true situation is that women have less CV disease than men prior to menopause and then they slowly catch up. However, some women under age 50 have an especially malignant form of CV disease and in these cases, myocardial infarction mortality is twice that of men. The explanation and management is the subject of much clinical investigation. In both India and the western world, perhaps the most important medical problem is the metabolic syndrome (MS) and this combination of CV risk factors multiplies the significance of each. For the difficult patient not tolerant of or sufficiently responsive to conventional therapy, alternative diets and medications can frequently offer just enough benefit in lowering LDL to allow the patient to attain their target level. Future treatments undoubtedly will involve genetics, but for now, aggressive medication use can favorably modify risk although not eliminate it.