Search

Hyperlipidemia is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) which is the major cause of mortality associated with a high socioeconomic burden in the developed countries. Despite the available lipid-lowering therapies, a plethora of studies have demonstrated poor lipid target attainment in clinical practice. This has been attributed mainly to the decreased patients' compliance with lipid-lowering therapy along with physicians' reluctance to prescribe more aggressive statin therapy or novel lipid-lowering drugs. According to global experience, the implementation of national hyperlipidemia management policies could help overcome these issues. Guidelines proposing lower targets for the management of dyslipidemias, national initiatives increasing public health check, and aiming at public education for CVD and its associated risk factors, along with reimbursement policies reducing the cost of lipid-lowering therapies could help improve lipid target attainment in clinical practice and reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]