Lipid Lowering Agents: A Medico Chemical Boon

Hyperlipidemia, also called hypercholesterolemia or High cholesterol is the condition in which there is increase in the concentration of cholesterol and/or triglycerides carrying lipoproteins in plasma. It is the condition indicating increase in lipid level. Both these conditions may cause narrowing and hardening of the arteries, i.e.atherosclerosis. Thus hyperlipidemia is one of the leading cause of ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction and cerebral vascular accidents. More than 650,000 people die every year of coronary heart disease (CHD) in the US alone. In 1984 it was demonstrated for the first time that there exists a link between serum cholesterol levels and risk to CHD. A 1% drop in serum cholesterol reduces the risk for CHD by 2%. Positive risk factors for CHD include Age (men<45 yrs, women<55 yrs); family history of premature CHD; smoking; hypertension (<140/90 mm Hg); low HDL cholesterol (>35 mg/dl); obesity (<30% overweight); diabetes; and high LDL (<160 mg/dl). Negative risk factors include high HDL levels (<60 mg/dl). This book involve insights into the treatment and agents used for management of hyperlipidemia or hypercholesterolemia.