Aggressive cholesterol management: role of the lipid nurse specialist.

There are millions of people with coronary heart disease and tens of millions more who are at risk. Research reveals that aggressive cholesterol management, especially in patients with known coronary heart disease, reduces the incidence of clinical cardiac events and improves survival rates. A review of the literature reveals disturbing evidence that patients with dyslipidemia are not being treated according to the National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines. The need for lipid nurse specialists is real and growing; the challenge of managing care for patients with dyslipidemia is tremendous. Because the role of the lipid nurse specialist is relatively new, it is described in detail in this article. Nurses who desire to fight heart disease aggressively will find this area of nursing practice interesting, challenging, and rewarding. Nurses who facilitate the implementation of the National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines to the large numbers of patients with dyslipidemia offer a valuable public health service.