Dyslipidemia: Contemporary Therapy Options in Terms of Worldwide Guidelines

Purpose of Review Statins represent a golden standard for treating patients with dyslipidemia. At half of the treated patients, the targeted level of LDL cholesterol is not achieved. Numerous studies which promote new medications have been published in the past several years. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to consider the new possibilities of treating dyslipidemia in terms of various dyslipidemia guidelines. Recent Findings Randomized clinical trials have shown that most positive effects are achieved by lowering the level of LDL cholesterol, and thus the guidelines define the target LDL value. Numerous guidelines in the field of dyslipidemia have been published, but there are some differences which will be analyzed in this review paper. Even if the target LDL cholesterol level is reached, there is still a residual lipid risk for the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, lipid factors, such as high level of triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, LP(a), etc., play a very important role. Nowadays, there are numerous potent medications which are used in statin and non-statin therapies. PCSK9 inhibitors, which are in the special focus of this paper, have been tested in the past few years. The paper offers an overview of traditionally used medications, as well as new experimental medications. Moreover, the paper emphasizes the importance of non-adherence to antilipemic medications, which is an important issue which reduces the favorable effects of the treatment. Summary Nowadays, there are drugs which, combined with statins, may reduce HDL-C level to very low values. The studies have shown inconsistent results in terms of solving the issue of residual lipid risk. Research in this field may significantly reduce lipid risk for cardiovascular events.