Management of a patient at very high cardiovascular risk with myositis during high-intensity statin therapy

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to translate the existing experience of successful optimization of lipid-lowering treatment in a patient with a very high cardiovascular risk and a long history of dyslipidemia, cerebral atherosclerosis and myositis, which developed on a high-intensity statin therapy regimen. Using the example of a 56-year-old patient observed in the lipid center of the city of Kemerovo, it was shown that the combination of pitavastatin in the maximum tolerated dose of 2 mg and the cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe 10 mg can not only be effective in achieving target values of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.4 mmol/l) after undergoing carotid revascularization, but also safe for registered muscle symptoms that arose during a high-intensity statin therapy regimen. It was demonstrated that, against the background of high adherence to the selected treatment and low-cholesterol diet, and maintenance of regular physical activity, the patient completely disappeared both muscle pain and muscle weakness, and there was no clinical or instrumental progression of cerebral stenosis. The article provides current data on the prevalence of muscle symptoms when taking statins in real practice and in randomized clinical trials, discusses existing predisposing factors and potential mechanisms of occurrence, describes variants of clinical manifestations and tentative diagnostic search criteria. In addition, recommendations on the tactics of managing patients with their development at various cardiovascular risks have been systematized. An expert classification system for statin-associated muscle symptoms is demonstrated. Also presented is the routing of patients with side effects developing during statin therapy, adopted in the city of Kemerovo.