RESUMO
BACKGROUND: One of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases is hyperlipidemia. The primary aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of individuals between 40-75 years old that would be eligible for statin therapy based on ACC/AHA guideline as compared to ATP-III guideline in a population of patients in Saudi Arabia. We also intended to extrapolate the results to the entire Saudi population, and estimate the cost implications of the ACC/AHA treatment guideline. METHODS: This study was a retrospective, observational study involving adult patients aged between 40-75 years old. The study was conducted at the primary health care clinics at King Abdul-Aziz Medical/Riyadh. The eligibility for statins use was assessed and compared for each patient based on both the recent 2013 ACC-AHA guideline and the 2002 ATP-III guideline. The cost implication of applying the ACC/AHA treatment guideline was estimated based on the average cost for 40 mg Atorvastatin in the Saudi Market. RESULTS: A total of 1005 patients were included in the study. Using the ATP-III guideline, there were 139 male (43.7%) and 279 female (40.6%) eligible to receive statin therapy. Based on the 2013 ACC/AHA guideline, treatment is recommended in 315 males (99.1%) and 564 females (82.1%). On the other hand, high-intensity statin was recommended in 302 male (95%) and 400 female (58.2%). Only 74 (10.5%) patients were prescribed high-intensity statin of the 702 eligible patients. Extrapolating the results to the entire Saudi population, 2.369 million additional patients would be eligible for statin therapy when applying the ACC/AHA guideline. Applying the new guideline would result in a cost increase of at least 4.318 billion SR per year. CONCLUSIONS: The eligibility for statin therapy was much higher when applying the ACC/AHA guideline as compared to ATP-III guideline. Applying the recent ACC/AHA dyslipidemia guideline increased the number of patients eligible for statin therapy to approximately two folds. This would be associated with a substantial increase in cost and possibly side effects. The concerns surrounding the ACC/AHA guideline should be addressed at the national level.