Top 10 Tips for Using Statins in Clinical Practice

Statins are the mainstay of cholesterol treatment to prevent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, significant barriers, including physician and patient factors, prevent the optimal use of this drug class. In this article, we provide 10 clear and simple tips for clinicians when prescribing statins. The tips are based on the current guidelines, an extensive review of the literature, and decades of clinical practice of the senior author. Within the tips, we discuss key components of the guidelines, assessing cardiovascular risk profiles, evaluating drug-drug interactions, addressing adverse effects, and developing treatment plans that include statins and nonstatins. The tips will be useful for primary and specialty clinicians, such as cardiologists, endocrinologists, and nephrologists.