Raising HDL cholesterol for Asians urged

The importance of raising high density lipoprotein cholesterol to reduce cardiovascular risk was underscored in a symposium sponsored by Merck Inc. during the recent joint annual convention of the Philippine Lipid Society and Philippine Society of Hypertension.

Dr. Rody Sy, cardiologist and associate professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, presented the recommendations of the Pan-Asian Consensus Panel, which suggested that the HDL-C target in Asian countries should be at least 40 mg/dL.

The panel also recommended that the treatment of low HDL-C should be done within the context of global cardiovascular risk management.

Low HDL-C has been established as an independent risk factor that can predict future coronary heart disease (CHD).

Thus, treating low HDL-C is seen as an important step to prevent CHD and other cardiovascular diseases.

Nicotinic acid, a medicine for treating low HDL-C, the panel suggested, "may prove to be a useful therapeutic intervention, as monotherapy or in combination with a statin, in Asian patients with or at risk of CHD, including those with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome."

The panel, composed of specialists from 10 countries, including the Philippines, was convened to recommend the target level of HDL-C for the Asian population, and the treatment and management of low HDL-C.

Sy, Dr. Annette Borromeo of the Philippine Heart Center and Dr. Elizabeth Paz-Pacheco of The Medical City represented the country in the panel.