From the NELA President: Let the Recommendations Roll

I am greatly honored and humbled to hold the office of President of the Northeast Lipid Association (NELA). I appreciate the endorsement of this multidisciplinary organization, one in which a nurse practitioner has the opportunity to rise to the level of president. I have been a board member since the inception of this NLA chapter and have had the opportunity to see it grow not only in number but also in professionalism.

It is in this spirit of collegiality that NELA moves forward this year. The Board of Directors has identified three areas of concentration that will continue to foster opportunities for professional education, leadership, and growth.

Once again NELA has been engaged in community outreach projects and we look forward to the continuation of events such as the New York Yankees FanFest this past September during which we were able to offer cholesterol screening and individual risk assessment information for participants.

A second focus is recognizing and supporting smaller regional programs within our region with chapter endorsements. We are able to promote these meetings to the entire chapter, bringing interested professionals to these informal gatherings. As we serve a large geographic area, we are hopeful that several regions will be inclined to promote gatherings in their area, bringing pertinent and up-to-date information to our members, especially those who may not have the opportunity to attend formal NLA functions.

Our third area of focus is membership. Membership not only connotes paying dues, but becoming an active contributor to the group. We are greatly interested in mentorship and advocacy between our members as a way to bring along those newer to the field of dyslipidemia. I am pleased to report that several of the articles that are presented in this issue of the LipidSpin represent collaboration with seasoned lipid specialists, along with residents, students, and others interested in this field of study.

Along this same line of thought is committee involvement both at the chapter and national level. We have a goal that any member who wishes to be on a committee can be accommodated as a means to develop a feeling of partnership within the chapter. We believe these initiatives will assist in the ongoing success of NELA.

We enjoyed an excellent Fall 2014 CLU in Indianapolis in conjunction with MWLA. This was an outstanding opportunity to introduce discussion on the ACC/AHA Guidelines and the NLA Recommendations for Patient-Centered Management of Dyslipidemia. This agenda encouraged a discussion about the complementary nature of these documents but also heralded a “call to action” to not be content with treatment of LDL cholesterol alone. We were able to reinforce our beliefs that goals are still significant and that all apolipoprotein B containing cholesterol particles are atherogenic and worthy of consideration for treatment.

This concept was once again reinforced with the findings of the IMPROVE-IT trial, which were revealed at the recent AHA meeting. The study’s confirmed that lower LDL-C is important and that “targets” even as low as the 50s are superior to those provided with high intensity statin alone. The study further confirmed the safety of ezetimibe therapy. A recent American Journal of Cardiology article on the extensive follow up of the SEAS trial revealed no increased cancer risk from ezetimibe, an issue that was questioned in the original study, and was confirmed in IMPROVE-IT.

The results of IMPROVE-IT further support the NLA Recommendations that targeting LDL below 70 in very high-risk patients is important, and that ezetimibe is a safe and effective drug to assist achievement of that goal. This study additionally reinforced the NLA contention that non-statin drugs that target LDL-C as well as non-HDL-C are useful in clinical practice to achieve goals in selected high-risk patients. These recent findings beg the question that perhaps the year-old ACC/AHA Guidelines are obsolete and reinforces the role of the NLA Recommendations in assisting those treating dyslipidemic patients.

NELA hopes to foster similar interest with the focus of this edition of LipidSpin in which we initiate a discussion of “Gender Differences in the Identification and Treatment of Cardiovascular Risk.” Contributions include topics from genetics to treatment of young women with Familial Hypercholesterolemia who require statin therapy during the childbearing years. We fully appreciate that all patients are individuals and are deserving of individual assessment and management. This discussion is in ideal timing for Part II of the NLA Recommendations for Patient- Centered Management of Dyslipidemia, which will focus on “Special Populations” and is in preparation by the NLA at this time. Along with our guest editor, Dr. Emil deGoma, it is with great pleasure that we present this edition of the LipidSpin.”