Goldberg - Figure 4 - Lipid specialists Text

Patients who do not respond adequately to, or are intolerant of, initial statin therapy should be referred to a lipid specialist, as highlighted in this Figure. Consultation with, or referral to a lipid specialist is recommended for children with FH, since many pediatricians do not have a great deal of experience in treating these cases. It should be borne in mind that an LDL cholesterol decrease of >50% is the current recommendation for FH patients, and for some of these patients this is going to require much more intensive therapy. Patients who are candidates for the most intensive therapy or who have family histories of very premature CHD, such as men ≤45 or women ≤55 years of age, should also be referred to a lipid specialist. This includes patients who either do not respond adequately to usual medications or who have difficulties with taking usual medications.

Goldberg A. J Clin Lipidol. 2011; 5(6).