Residual risk in statin-treated patients: Future therapeutic options

Statin therapy for aggressive low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, even on maximal statin therapy, high-risk patients have substantial residual risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Certain subgroups, such as individuals with diabetes mellitus, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), metabolic syndrome, or other comorbidities, have a particularly high residual risk. Patients at high risk for future CHD events often require multiple aggressive risk-reduction therapies (eg, antiplatelet agents, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker, β-blockade, cholesterol and/or diabetes management, and lifestyle interventions) to further lower their overall cardiovascular risk. For cholesterol management, combination therapy may be required to attain optimal levels of LDL-C, HDL-C, and non-HDL-C.