Benefits of strategic use of statins associated with other hypolipemyants in the dislipidemic patient’s management: summary of evidences

Abstract

Dyslipidemia is a multifactorial disease that can be diagnosed by measuring plasma concentrations of lipoproteins important for the transport of both cholesterol and triglycerides, such as triglyceriderich lipoprotein cholesterol and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL ), high-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) and, finally, high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The treatment of dyslipidemias can be performed in a multidisciplinary way, however, in most cases, it is necessary to use drugs, which seek to decrease the concentrations of VLDL and LDL-C and increase the concentration of HDL, since it reduces the plasma concentrations of LDL-C decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as the incidence of major coronary events, revascularizations and stroke. Among the various pharmacological classes available for the pharmacotherapy of dyslipidemias, statins certainly play a prominent role, however, in many cases, statins are presumed to be administered concomitantly with other antidysipidemic drugs, such as ezetimibe (a absorption of cholesterol), fibrates, bile acid sequestrants and nicotinic acid or niacin in order to reduce the high risks of cardiovascular diseases in dyslipidemic patients. Thus, this review aims to discuss the benefits of using statins as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs in the management of dyslipidemic patients with high cardiovascular risk.