American Heart Association (AHA), 2018

This clinical practice guideline from the American Heart Association (AHA) aims to give healthcare
providers consistent, clear, and evidence-based guidance for treating patients at risk for atherosclerotic
cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

The guidance covers risk assessment, primary and secondary prevention of ASCVD, lifestyle
interventions, statin therapy, and non-statin alternatives and adjuncts. It also includes printable tools to help:

• Assess patients’ risk for ASCVD and the use of tools such as the ASCVD risk calculator
• Understand when and how to prescribe and manage statins and non-statin therapies
• Discuss a patient’s ASCVD risks as well as options for treatment
• Overcome common barriers to treatment

The authors highlight that, for primary prevention of ASCVD, fasting and non-fasting total cholesterol and HDL-C levels have similar prognostic value and associations with CVD outcomes. Therefore, recommendations are to measure either a fasting or a non-fasting plasma lipid profile to estimate ASCVD risk and document baseline LDL-C in adults who are 20 years or older and not on lipid-lowering therapy. Point-of-care lipid testing (and screening), as a result, can be used in place of traditional fasting laboratory lipid tests, where there is potential clinical benefit.

The guidelines can be accessed here.

COL-08881 10/2021