Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Australia.1 Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), believed to be a key initiator of atherosclerosis, is the primary target in the secondary prevention of ASCVD.2 However, despite widespread uptake of LDL-C lowering medications, even among patients who achieve guideline-recommended levels of LDL-C, many remain at elevated risk of having a major ASCVD event.3 This is commonly referred to as residual risk.4
Presented by Dr Robert Hungerford and Assoc./Prof Adam Nelson, this on-demand webinar explores how to perform more advanced cardiovascular risk assessments to better stratify patients’ cardiovascular risk, and to how to address residual risk with individualised treatments that address important non-lipid risk factors, such as obesity.
References
1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2023. Heart, stroke and vascular disease: Australian facts. Available at www.aihw.gov.au/reports/heart-stroke-vascular-diseases/hsvd-facts/contents/about (accessed January 2024).
2. National Heart Foundation of Australia & Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Australian clinical guidelines for the management of acute coronary syndromes 2016. Heart Lung Circ. 2016;25(9):895-951
3. Toth PP. Identification and treatment of those most at risk for premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: We just cannot seem to get it right. Am J Prev Cardiol. 2020;2:100040.
4. Matsuura Y, Kanter JE, Bornfeldt KE. Highlighting Residual Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2019 Jan;39(1):e1-e9.
Learning outcomes
Dr Hungerford is a Fellow of the RACGP and was awarded the Tony Buhagiar Medal in 2014. He is GP supervisor in a large teaching general practice in Newcastle, also working at a rapid access GP clinic at the John Hunter Hospital. He is conjoint lecturer at the university of Newcastle and is regularly involved with education at a regional and national level in his areas of interest, namely ASCVD, Heart failure and diabetes.
Assoc. Prof Nelson is an early career interventional cardiologist and clinical triallist with academic and clinical interests in dyslipidaemia, obesity and diabetes.
