Worldwide Dyslipidemia Guidelines

Purpose of ReviewThis review aims to identify common features of guidelines by comparing and summarizing similarities between five guidelines distributed by high-profile cardiovascular societies across the globe. We include guidelines from North America: ACC/AHA (2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults) and CCS (2016 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Guidelines for the Management of Dyslipidemia for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in the Adult) and from Europe: PoLA (2016 Polish Lipid Association), ESC/EAS (2016 European Society for Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society Guidelines for the Management of Dyslipidemias), and NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) from the UK. We also include the 2016 Chinese guidelines for the management of dyslipidemia in adults in this comparison.Recent FindingsAll of these guidelines employ a rigorous review of clinical evidence and emphasize the immense importance of statins in the primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Moreover, they place great emphasis on the dialog between the clinician and the patient regarding treatment and the risks associated with it.SummaryDespite the differences in statin intensities, safety concerns, use of risk estimators, or treatment of specific patient subgroups, there are more similarities than differences between the guidelines from both a clinical and practical point of view. Physicians ought to understand both similarities and differences in guideline recommendations to make the right decision regarding statin therapy for individual patients.