Lipid-Lowering Therapy and Cardiovascular Prevention in Elderly

Abstract

The global population aged 80 years and older will reach approximately half a billion in the coming years, and cardiovascular prevention in this group of patients will become a global health challenge. In the era of evidence-based medicine, the use of lipid-lowering therapies (LLTs) in the elderly, particularly in primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention, remains an area of active research. Although there is broad consensus on the use of LLTs in the elderly to prevent recurrent cardiovascular events in secondary prevention, there is considerable debate about their use in primary prevention. Many efforts have been made to improve cardiovascular risk stratification in patients over 75 years of age in primary prevention. In recent years, some specific risk scores have been developed, including the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation 2 for Older Persons (SCORE2-OP). While there are very few specific warnings to consider for LLTs in the elderly, an important challenge in this patient population is to identify the turning point at which the disutility risk outweighs the potential benefits. However, despite the widespread recognition of the importance of this issue, there is a lack of guidance on how to identify patients who should be withdrawn from therapy. The aim of this narrative review is to examine the current state of knowledge regarding the indications for LLT in elderly patients, identify outstanding issues, and discuss future developments.

Fig. 1

Indications (in green), cautions (in yellow) and choices to avoid (in red) for prescribing statins in elderly patients. ASCVD atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; CAC coronary artery calcium; LDL-C low density lipoprotein cholesterol