Where to Screen the Next Generation of Cardiovascular-Risk Patients

As discussed previously in sessions at The Metabolic Institute of America (TMIOA) 2021 World Congress Insulin Resistance Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease (WCIRDC) meeting in Los Angeles this week, lipid screening rates are underwhelming for the next generation of cardiovascular-risk patients.

Andrew Moran, MD, MPH, of Columbia University, shared a statistic in his own presentation at WCIRDC that just 1 in every 4 adults ≤40 years old has had such a test done before.

In the second segment of an interview with HCPLive during WCIRDC, Moran went into details as to where such young patients need to be targeted for screening—and how.

“I think it’s both a matter of mobilizing awareness in the general public and increasing the demand for an earlier screening,” Moran said. “But definitely I think the primary care community, and the pediatric primary care, there’s a lot of need for information on the benefits of earlier screening.”

Moran also discussed the matter that younger high-risk patients may not be receiving health care in a traditional sense nor in a traditional setting.

“The medical system really isn’t set up for screening and treating young people,” he added. “It’s both a matter of making people aware of the current guidelines, but also innovating in terms of how care is delivered.”

Along with these necessary innovations, there’s a need to better address treatment among younger patients once they’re screened, diagnosed, and prescribed lifelong therapy such as statin. As Moran pointed out, such a treatment initiation is “a big commitment.”

“We have to innovate in that way—it’s not just for cholesterol screening, but for delivering healthcare to younger people in general,” he said.