CCS updates the Canadian guidelines for the management and treatment of dyslipidemia

The management of dyslipidemia continues to evolve and despite improvements in recurrent cardiovascular events and a decrease in cardiac mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) still represents the major burden of disease in this country. In order to provide a standard of care and treatment for CVD that is current and uniform across the country, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) recently updated the Canadian guidelines for the management and treatment of dyslipidemia (the 2009 lipid guidelines).

The 2009 lipid guidelines, published in the October issue of Canadian Journal of Cardiology, reinforce the importance of screening and treating to targets.

"It's important that Canadians who are at risk for cardiovascular disease be proactive and visit their doctors for regular screening, but it's equally important for treating physicians to recommend screening more frequently," says Dr. George Honos, Chief of Cardiology, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM). "The 2009 lipid guidelines provide the foundation for screening as well as uniform cardiovascular care in Canada."

Although the major principles of screening and risk stratification in the last updated 2006 Canadian lipid guidelines are retained in the 2009 version, there are several important updates:

- The high-risk population has been better defined, including patients with diabetes, end-stage heart failure and renal disease; - Risk-stratification tools now take into consideration total cardiovascular disease rather than coronary artery disease; - The importance of genetic factors and family history of premature CVD is taken into account in the determination of risk; - The importance of obesity (especially abdominal obesity) as a major modifiable CVD risk factor is emphasized by including the International Diabetes Federations (IDF) classification of the metabolic syndrome and including overweight and obesity in the screening strategy; - Risk stratification for several inflammatory diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis) is now included; and, - Simplified target lipid levels are provided.

Source: PFIZER CANADA INC.