Dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular risk

### What you need to know A 40 year old man visits his general practitioner for annual antipsychotic monitoring. He is taking risperidone and sertraline for a previous diagnosis of psychotic depression. Recent blood tests showed a total cholesterol of 6.0, low density lipoprotein (calculated) (LDLc) 3.8, high density lipoprotein (HDL) 0.8, non-HDL 5.2, and triglyceride of 3.0 mmol/L; other blood tests were within the reference range. Patients may require consideration of dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular risk for a number of reasons, including pre-existing physical health conditions such as chronic kidney disease; medications such as antipsychotics; family history such as hypercholesterolaemia or ischaemic heart disease; or due to age thresholds, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) screening in over-40s. This article provides a framework for diagnosing and managing dyslipidaemia, with the aim of reducing patients’ CVD risk. History Ask about Fig 1 Approach to diagnosis and management of hypercholesterolaemia (based on guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence) The patient advice leaflet, included as a supplementary file with this …