Lipid management and the elderly

• Published in: Preventive cardiology Vol. 6; no. 3; p. 128
• Main Authors: Davidson, Michael H, Kurlandsky, Sara B, Kleinpell, Ruth M, Maki, Kevin C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 2003
• Subjects: Aged; Coronary Disease - complications; Coronary Disease - prevention & control; Female; Health Services for the Aged; Humans; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Hypercholesterolemia - complications; Hypercholesterolemia - prevention & control; Male; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; United States; United States
• ISSN: 1520-037X
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1520-037X.2003.00557.x

Advancing age is an independent risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease. However, the significance of hypercholesterolemia as a cardiovascular risk factor in the elderly, has been widely debated. While no large-scale, randomized clinical trial has been conducted to evaluate cholesterol lowering solely in the elderly, evidence from older subgroups in several intervention trials supports the efficacy of lowering elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol for reducing cardiovascular risk in the elderly. Furthermore, although the relative risk of hyper-cholesterolemia for coronary heart disease incidence may be attenuated with advancing age, the population-wide impact of treating elevated cholesterol levels in the elderly would be large, due to the high frequency of coronary heart disease in the elderly. This article reviews key issues in the management of hyper-cholesterolemia with respect to coronary heart disease risk reduction in the elderly.