Why are at-risk patients not at LDL cholesterol goal?

Statins are the cornerstone of LDL cholesterol lowering therapy, with proven benefit in reducing cardiovascular events in both primary and secondary prevention settings. Yet, despite maximally tolerated statin therapy, high and very high-risk patients continue to experience cardiovascular events. Addition of ezetimibe does not eliminate this high residual cardiovascular risk.

Multiple factors account for the failure of very high-risk patients to attain LDL cholesterol goal. These include adherence and tolerability issues, most notably with statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS), and pharmacogenomic variability. It is also clear that additional therapeutic options are needed in very high-risk patients.

This complementary slide deck discusses the background to this unmet clinical need.

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