[Dyslipidemia management for secondary prevention in cardiovascular disease: from guidelines to clinical practice]. / Dislipidemia e prevenzione secondaria del rischio cardiovascolare: dalle linee guida alla pratica clinica.

Despite improvements in the treatment and prevention of risk factors (i.e. dyslipidemia), cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in countries with a high degree of socio-economic development. As a matter of fact, in the last decades, several trials and meta-analysis highlighted the impact of treatments targeted to lowering cholesterol levels (particularly LDL-cholesterol) on outcomes of patients affected by CVD, both in terms of primary and secondary prevention. The main international CVD guidelines recommend lifestyle modifications and optimal lipid-lowering therapy in individuals with established CVD. The aim of the present document is to describe the dimension of the problem and the available therapies, offering a practical pharmacological flow-chart useful for accurate monitoring and intensive treatment of dyslipidemias in this patient population.