Background: Dyslipidaemia is a common condition managed in general practice. Objective: This article reviews the evidence and gives practical advice for the management of dyslipidaemia in general practice. Discussion: It is essential to identify people at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to instigate appropriate treatment strategies. An assessment of absolute risk is the most appropriate method of identifying those at a higher risk of CVD where CVD is not overt. People with an absolute risk of >15% of a cardiovascular event in the next 5 years should be actively treated. Drug therapy should also be considered in those estimated to be at 10-15% risk of a cardiovascular event in the next 5 years if they have additional risk factors. It is important to select an appropriate lipid lowering therapy (or combination of drugs) in order to reach lipid targets, which need to consider not just LDL-c but also HDL-c and triglycerides. Lifestyle management should underpin all lipid management strategies.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Cardiovascular medicine and haematology
Research Field:	Cardiology (incl. cardiovascular diseases)
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Clinical health
Objective Field:	Clinical health not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Nelson, MR (Professor Mark Nelson)
ID Code:	52427
Year Published:	2008
Web of Science® Times Cited:	4
Deposited By:	Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Deposited On:	2008-07-10
Last Modified:	2009-05-02
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