OVERVIEW

The Crucial Problem of ASCVD: Can New Therapeutic Options Resolve It? is organized by Primary Care Network (PCN).

Release / Expiration Date:
This internet, enduring activity (audio/slides) will be available for one year, beginning January 30, 2019 through January 30, 2020.

Target Audience:
The intended audiences for this initiative include family medicine practitioners, primary care providers, lipidologists, clinical cardiologists, internists, and other healthcare professionals tasked with refining and updating clinical decision-making practices and establishing partnerships with ASCVD patients to improve clinical outcomes.

Accreditation/Designation Statements:
Boston University School of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance Of Certification (MOC):
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.0 Medical Knowledge MOC point in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP):
This Enduring Material activity, THE CRUCIAL PROBLEM OF ASCVD, Can New Therapeutic Options Resolve It?, has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 1.00 Prescribed credit by the American Academy of Family Physicians. AAFP certification begins 01/30/2019. Term of approval is for one year from this date. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Program Overview:
Clinically evident atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a leading cause of death and mortality in the US, and elevated serum LDL-C is a widely-recognized cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. Since hypercholesterolemia is a major driver of ASCVD, lipid-lowering therapies (mainly statins) are the primary approach to lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Unfortunately, intensive statin therapy lowers CVD risk by only ~50%, leaving many patients at excessively high residual CVD risk with no good options to reduce this risk.

This activity explores the residual CVD risk that ASCVD patients endure despite even intensive statin therapy. The education will also examine the possibility of additional CVD risk reduction by adding lipid-lowering therapies to statins, including the use of add-on therapies (ezetimibe and recent PCSK9 inhibitors) to improve clinical outcomes in this high-risk patient population.

Learning Objectives:
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:
• Evaluate the extent of residual CVD risk to which ASCVD patients are exposed, and treat additional CVD risk elements as appropriate
• Differentiate the clinical properties of new and emerging pharmacologic approaches to reduce LDL-C and lower CVD risk
• Analyze the potential utility of new LDL-C lowering agents used in combination with statins to reduce CVD risk in patients who have ASCVD.