Lipid-lowering therapy in older persons

Numerous randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies and observational studies have shown that statins reduce mortality and major cardiovascular events in older high-risk persons with hypercholesterolemia. The Heart Protection Study showed that statins reduced mortality and major cardiovascular events in high-risk persons regardless of the initial level of serum lipids, age, or gender. The updated National Cholesterol Education Program III guidelines state that in very high-risk persons, a serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level of < 70 mg/dl (1.8 mmol/l) is a reasonable clinical strategy for moderately high-risk persons (2 or more risk factors and a 10-year risk for coronary artery disease of 10% to 20%), and the serum LDL cholesterol should be reduced to < 100 mg/dl (2.6 mmol/l). When LDL cholesterol-lowering drug therapy is used to treat high-risk persons or moderately high-risk persons, the serum LDL cholesterol should be reduced by at least 30% to 40%. The serum LDL cholesterol should be decreased to less than 160 mg/dl in persons at low risk for cardiovascular disease. Addition of other lipid-lowering drugs to statin therapy has not been demonstrated to further reduce cardiovascular events and mortality.