[An updated overview of the high intensity lipid lowering therapy in high cardiovascular risk patients]

Statins are highly effective drugs to decrease the plasma concentrations of atherogenic lipoproteins and prevent cardiovascular disease. The clinical practice guidelines recommend the use of high-intensity statins to lower LDL-cholesterol by at least 50% in patients with CVD and those at high cardiovascular risk. The recommendations for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia by the ACC/AHA have led to a paradigm shift in cardiovascular prevention. These recommendations have abandoned the therapeutic goals of LDL-cholesterol, and recommend the treatment with statins of high or moderate intensity in four high cardiovascular risk groups. These recommendations are different from the European guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention, in which their objectives are still towards LDL-cholesterol. This paper reviews this controversy from different angles and from the perspective of the Spanish Interdisciplinary Committee for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. Intervention studies with high intensity statins in primary prevention, in patients with acute coronary syndrome, and with stable ischaemic heart disease are also described. Likewise, treatment with statins of high intensity is addressed in terms of their effectiveness in cardiovascular prevention and in terms of their safety, with particular attention to muscle effects, as well as taking into account the pharmacological characteristics of the different statins and the increased safety of those with less potential for interactions. Finally, new agents are described for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia, with special emphasis on anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies, a new therapeutic group for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia that will offer a huge progress in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.