Lipid clinics worldwide: harmonization and guidance on how to optimally organize and fund. European Atherosclerosis Society consensus statement across 55 countries and more than 500 lipid clinics

Because one in three of all individuals die from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), prevention of ASCVD is key to public health worldwide. Lipid clinics provide specialized diagnostic assessment, lifestyle management, and evidence-based lipid-lowering treatment to prevent ASCVD and acute pancreatitis in high-risk individuals. This includes individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia and/or markedly increased lipoprotein(a), statin intolerance, refractory or difficult-to-control low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, severe hypertriglyceridaemia, and other rare or complex lipid disorders. Such specialized care not only benefits the individual patients and their families but facilitates dissemination of best practices in lipid disorder management to healthcare professionals in individual nations. Despite this, there is a lack of guidance on standards and metrics needed to establish a well-harmonized national lipid clinic network in most countries capable of offering comprehensive care. This consensus paper from the European Atherosclerosis Society Lipid Clinic Network aims to meet this unmet clinical need. We provide recommendations to enhance education and training on lipid disorders and to harmonize lipid clinics at both national and international levels. Furthermore, we provide guidance on optimal staffing structures and development of registries to improve diagnosis and management of lipid disorders. Finally, we offer recommendations to national and regional policymakers on funding of lipid clinics, with the long-term goal of reducing the overall societal burden and costs of cardiovascular and other lipid-related diseases.