Dyslipidemia

Between 2009 and 2019, ischaemic heart disease moved from #4 to #1 on the list of top ten causes of death in South Africa.²

Cholesterol reduction in combination with aggressive management of modifiable risk factors – including nutrition, physical activity, blood pressure and smoking – can help to reduce and prevent morbidity and mortality in individuals who are at increased risk of CV events.¹

Data collected up until 2000 indicated that 28% of black South Africans and >80% of white, coloured and Indian adults older than 30 years of age have serum total cholesterol (TC) levels of 5mmol/l.³ Dyslipidaemia is therefore an important target for intervention in all population groups.³

For individuals who are not considered to be at high or very high risk of CV, the decision whether to treat (and which interventional strategy to use) is based on a CV risk score.¹ This score is calculated using total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), gender, age and smoking status.¹

The need for drug therapy and the appropriate intensity of that therapy are determined according to the individual’s baseline low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) levels and appropriate target LDL-C concentration.¹

LDL-C treatment targets are based on pre-treatment risk.