IJCS | Volume 33, Nº4, July and August 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36660/ijcs.20190010 Introduction The development of noncommunicable chronic diseases is associated with smoking, sedentary lifestyle and nutritional factors, and their detrimental effects can be reduced by a healthy lifestyle. 1,2 In Ecuador, health care of patients with diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and hypertension accounts for the majority of physician- patient appointments and hospital discharge in the last twenty years. 3 Recently, the National Health and Nutrition Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición - ENSANUT) presented by the Ecuadorian 371 ORIGINAL ARTICLE International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences. 2020; 33(4):371-376 Mailing Address: Enrique Teran, MD, PhD Colegio de Ciencias de la Salud - Universidad San Francisco de Quito - Diego de Robles, s/n. Postal Code: 170157, Quito - Ecuador. E-mail: eteran@usfq.edu.ec Treatment Eligibility and Therapeutic Responses of an Ecuadorian Population at High Cardiovascular Risk Based on the ATP III Guidelines Isabel Hernández, 1 A ndrea Estrella, 1 J orge Salazar, 2 Y an Duarte, 3 Edmundo Torres, 4 C amilo López, 5, 6 Santiago Terán, 7 A lejandra Mendoza, 7 E nrique Terán 1, 7 Facultad de Enfermería, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 1 Quito - Ecuador Servicio de Endocrinología, Hospital de Especialidades Eugenio Espejo, 2 Quito - Ecuador Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital Luis Vernaza, 3 Guayaquil - Ecuador Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Carlos Andrade Marín, 4 Quito - Ecuador Servicio de Endocrinología, Hospital Teodoro Maldonado Carbo, 5 Guayaquil - Ecuador Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Guayaquil, 6 Guayaquil - Ecuador Colegio de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, 7 Quito - Ecuador Manuscript received on January 7, 2019; reviewed on July 02,2019; accepted on August 27,2019. Abstract Background: The Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) guidelines aim to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In Ecuador, 20% of people have high LDL cholesterol levels, and 39% have high triglyceride levels. Objective: To analyze lipid-lowering regimens in Ecuadorian patients and determine the achievement rate of the ATPIII goals for lipid profile. Methods: Using a retrospective analysis, 385 subjects older than 30 years, who received pharmacological treatment for dyslipidemia for at least three months was randomly selected from institutions at two large cities in Ecuador. Data were collected from patients’ medical records and analyzed by chi-square test or paired t-test; p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: Baseline total cholesterol values were above 200 mg/dL in 75% of subjects, LDL-c values above 129 mg/dL in 83% of subjects and triglycerides values above 150 mg/dL in 79% of subjects. Most (n = 253, 95.8%) patients at very high cardiovascular risk were taking statins, 50% of them atorvastatin. Considering the ATPIII guidelines’ goals, only 24 subjects (19%) at high CV risk achieved an LDL-c < 100 mg/dl, while a significantly lower percentage (p = 0.04) of patients at very high risk reached an LDL-c < 70mg/dl (11%; n = 30). Conclusion: These data indicate a low rate of compliance with the ATPIII guidelines, independent of the medication used or duration of the treatment. This may be attributed to the prescription of low doses of medication and a therapy targeting isolated lipid fractions rather than a complete lipid profile. (Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2020; 33(4):371-376) Keywords: Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention and control; Cholesterol; Triglicerides; Sedentarism; Tabaquism; Lifestyle; Dyslipidemia; Patient Compliance.