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March 10, 2015

Deciphering Cholesterol Treatment Guidelines: A Clinician’s Perspective

Author Affiliations
  • 1Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
JAMA. 2015;313(10):1009-1010. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.216

The publication of cholesterol treatment guidelines by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC/AHA)1 immediately met with considerable support as well some criticism related to their applicability in practice. The criticism was based primarily on 2 issues: eliminating numerical targets for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non–HDL-C) and debate about the value of the new pooled risk calculator for treatment initiation decisions.2,3 Several additional treatment guidelines from established organizations were published in the past year, including from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE),4 the National Lipid Association (NLA),5 and, most recently, the American Diabetes Association (ADA).6

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