Cholesterol Guidelines and NLA Involvement

The National Lipid Association remains focused on enhancing the practice of lipid management in clinical medicine, with guideline education and participation as a critical part of our efforts. NLA represents the intellectual leadership on the blood cholesterol and triglyceride space. NLA leaders and members are routinely present in the development of cholesterol guidelines and expert consensus pathways, including Kim K. Birtcher, PharmD, MS, FNLA, Roger S. Blumenthal, MD, FNLA, Lynne T. Braun, PhD, CNP, CLS, FNLA, Sondra M. DePalma, DHSc, PA-C, FNLA, Anne C. Goldberg, MD, FNLA, Ronald Goldberg, MD, FNLA, Scott Grundy, MD, PhD, FNLA, Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, MD, PhD, FNLA, Pamela B. Morris, MD, FNLA, Carl E. Orringer, MD, FNLA, Joseph J. Saseen, PharmD, CLS, FNLA, Neil Stone, MD, FNLA, and Karol E. Watson, MD, PhD, FNLA, but it was not until 2018 that the NLA participated officially as an organization in guideline development.

Prior to 2013, the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults developed three Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) reports to provide guidance on treatment of cardiovascular disease. NCEP was a product of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

The 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines represented the first set of cholesterol guidelines developed by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA). While the NLA has overlapping memberships with ACC and AHA, the 2013 Guidelines did not necessarily represent the cardiovascular disease community, particularly lipids and lipoproteins, as they did not seek consensus from other stakeholder organizations. Many of the professional societies in the space urged the ACC and AHA to expand authorship on future guidelines.

In 2018, the NLA was a proud partner and endorsing organization on the 2018 ACC/AHA/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol. This represents the first time in the history of cholesterol guidelines that such a diverse group of organizations expressly collaborated.

Currently, the NLA was identified as the only organization asked to endorse the ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on the Role of Non-Statin Therapies.

The guidelines provide a solid baseline for management of blood cholesterol, while allowing the NLA to supplement with its Scientific Statements and Clinical Perspectives. It has been our pleasure to represent the interest of the NLA and lipid patients since 2018. We look forward to continued involvement of the NLA
in future cholesterol guidelines, consensus decision pathways, and other clinical guidance publications.