CME Paper: Lipid Lowering Therapy is Safe in the Elderly:The LifeHelp 80-80 Analysis

Little information is available regarding the safety and efficacy of lipid lowering therapy in the elderly. Records of 80 octogenarians, taken from the database of the LifeHelp Lipid Clinic of the Heart Institute of St. Petersburg, FL, were examined, representing 1863 patient months of treatment. Therapy was effective, lowering low density lipoprotein cholesterol (from 140Â+/-4 to 92Â+/-3 mg/dL), raising high density lipoprotein cholesterol (from 44Â+/-1 to 50Â+/-1 mg/dL), and lowering triglycerides (from 199Â+/-21 to 146Â+/-9 mg/dL). Six patients developed myalgias (without significant creatine phosphokinase rise) or gastrointestinal disturbances. Three of these patients restarted therapy without difficulty. No patient developed rhabdomyolysis (including the 11% of patients on combination therapy). One patient developed an elevation of liver (more than 3 times upper limits of normal), but later restarted therapy without sequelae. We conclude that lipid lowering therapy was effective at modifying hyperlipidemia in the elderly without significant adverse effects. (c) 2000 by CVRR, Inc.