Open AccessLipid Management and the Elderly
Author(s) -
Davidson Michael H.,
Kurlandsky Sara B,
Kleinpell Ruth M,
Maki Kevin C.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
preventive cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1751-7141
pISSN - 1520-037X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1520-037x.2003.00557.x
Subject(s) - medicine , coronary heart disease , risk factor , incidence (geometry) , cholesterol , clinical trial , disease , framingham risk score , randomized controlled trial , population , elderly people , cardiology , intensive care medicine , gerontology , environmental health , physics , optics
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 hypercholesterolemia 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 hypercholesterolemia with respect to coronary heart disease risk reduction in the elderly.