Hyperlipidemias and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

It is important to adapt the dietary pattern to the patient’s calorie requirements, personal and cultural food preferences, and nutrition therapy for other medical conditions, including diabetes. For adults with obesity, counseling and caloric restriction are recommended for achieving and maintaining weight reduction [236]. A successful dietary approach to lipid lowering requires instruction by a dietitian or other knowledgeable healthcare professional.

Instructions to patients should not be presented as a list of “foods to avoid” but rather should provide dietary alternatives and teach the patients how to make appropriate dietary choices and control portions. A balanced diet, particularly in the modality known as the Mediterranean diet, is associated with a significant reduction in cardiovascular events and mortality [116,117,118]. The Mediterranean diet is characterized by meals predominately consisting of vegetables/fruits, lean protein, and healthy fats (e.g., olive oil) and the moderate consumption of wine. Plans such as those offered by the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the AHA Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations, and the DASH Eating Plan can also help the patient achieve recommended lifestyle changes [119,120,121].

Physical activity stimulates the activity of lipoprotein lipase in adults as well as in children, lowers triglycerides and VLDL, and promotes cardiovascular fitness and weight loss [31,122]. Adults should engage in 150 minutes per week of accumulated moderate-intensity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity to reduce ASCVD risk [236]. An example of moderate exercise is brisk walking; examples of vigorous exercise are swimming, biking, and playing tennis. Combining moderate and vigorous physical activity allows for a proportionate reduction in time allotted to exercise each week.

Although dietary changes should always be included in the treatment of hyperlipidemias, the length of time given to lifestyle changes prior to initiation of pharmacotherapy remains controversial. In patients with low cardiovascular risk, it has been proposed that the efficacy of dietary and other lifestyle changes can be assessed in two to three visits over a two- to three-month period. Drug therapy is recommended only in select patients with moderately-high LDL (≥160 mg/dL) or patients with very-high LDL (190 mg/dL). High-intensity or maximal statin therapy plus ezetimibe and/or a PCKS9 inhibitor is recommended for the patient at very-high risk (i.e., history of multiple major ASCVD events) [24].

This post was last modified on Tháng mười một 20, 2024 5:32 chiều