Table 4.

Cardiovascular risk categories, LDL-C and non-HDL-Ctargets and initial treatment strategy.

Purpose	Risk Category	LDL-C target	Non-HDL-C target	Threshold for initiating pharmacological therapya,b
Primary prevention	Low risk (0–1 CV risk factor and 10-year risk of hard CV events <10%)	<130 mg/dl	<160 mg/dl	Drug therapy required if LDL-C continues to remain elevated (>130 mg/dl) despite adequate TLC for 3 months
	Moderate risk (2 or more CV risk factors with 10-year risk of hard CV events <10%)	<100 mg/dl	<130 mg/dl	Drug therapy required if LDL-C continues to remain elevated (>100 mg/dl) despite adequate TLC for 3 months
	Moderately high risk (2 or more CV risk factors with 10-year risk of hard CV events10-20%)	<100 mg/dl with at least 30–50% reduction from the baseline	<130 mg/dl	All patients should be on a statin
	High risk (10-year risk of hard CV events ≥20% or long-standing diabetes or other high-risk categories as defined in section 3.2)	<70 mg/dl with at least 50% reduction from the baseline	<100 mg/dl	All patients should be on a statin
Secondary preventionc	Patients with established atherosclerotic vascular disease	<70 mg/dl with at least 50% reduction from the baseline	<100 mg/dl	All patients should be on a statin

^aWhenever initiated, the aim of the statin therapy should be to lower LDL-C by at least 50% in those at high CV risk or those with established atherosclerotic vascular diseaseand by at least 30–50% in all the other subjects.

^bThe treatment should begin with a statin dose expected to lower LDL-C by the desired margin. The dose can be up titrated if the initial dose fails to achieve the desired LDL-C reduction.

^cDoes not include patients presenting with an acute CV event.