Strategy for diagnosis and treatment of hyperlipidemia

As hypercholesterolemia is an essential risk factor of atherosclerosis, a strategy for diagnosis and treatment of hyperlipidemia is indispensable. Differences in mortality from coronary heart disease in different cultures seem to be due to environmental, not to genetic factors. Trials in Finland and the United States have shown that cholesterol levels and smoking can be reduced by information and education with an ensuing drop in cardiovascular mortality. This experience warrants national programmes for cholesterol-lowering in high risk countries. Programmes should be directed to doctors and health officials as well as legislators and the public. Within any given population individual differences of lipid levels are due to both nutritional habits and genetic variations concerning e.g. LDL-receptors and lipase activity. At present the only means of identifying subjects at risk is to measure their lipid levels and to scrutinize their family history. Measurements should be repeated to exclude biologic and laboratory variability. Drugs currently available include HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, bile acid binding resins, clofibrate derivatives and nicotinic acid. Formerly defined age groups with regard to therapeutic measures have meanwhile been abandoned.