Understanding hypertriglyceridemia in women: clinical impact and management with prescription omega-3-acid ethyl esters Full Text
International Journal of Women's Health, 03/14/2011
Dayspring TD - Physicians should regularly monitor the lipid profile of their female patients. Any lipid abnormality should be managed promptly according to established guidelines. Prescription omega-3-acid ethyl esters (P-OM3) provide a well-tolerated option for the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia.
Methods- MedLine was searched for articles published through August 2009 using the terms “hypertriglyceridemia” and “dyslipidemia”, with subheadings for “prevalence”, “women”, “treatment”, “guidelines”, “risk”, and “omega-3 fatty acids”.
- Publications discussing the epidemiology of hypertriglyceridemia, coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, treatment guidelines for lipid management, or clinical trials involving P-OM3 were selected for review.
- The reference lists of relevant articles were also examined for additional citations.
- Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with increased CHD risk.
- Women, especially those with polycystic ovarian syndrome, type 2 diabetes, or who are postmenopausal, should be monitored regularly for the impact of hypertriglyceridemia on their lipid profile.
- Cardiovascular risk of triglycerides (TGs) can be indirectly assessed by monitoring non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) levels.
- There are multiple sets of guidelines providing recommendations for desirable low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, TG, and non-HDL-C levels.
- Treatment of hypertriglyceridemia includes lifestyle interventions and, if needed, pharmacologic therapy.
- In patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia, P-OM3 can reduce TGs by up to 45%.
