Evaluation of a lipid management pathway within a local cardiac rehabilitation service.

Elevated cholesterol/lipid levels, especially low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are known to contribute to the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The attainment of lipid targets is known to be suboptimal both globally and locally. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a lipid management pathway (LMP) in supporting attainment of lipid targets following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in a local cohort of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients. Quantitative data were retrospectively collected from 54 CR patient records. Local lipid target attainment was benchmarked against national guidelines and pre-pathway implementation audit results. The number of admission lipid profiles increased by 24.8% to 79.6% following implementation of the LMP. There was a 31% improvement in the number of patients achieving either a 50% reduction in LDL-C or an LDL-C level of <1.4 mmol/L. In conclusion, the LMP had a significant positive impact upon the attainment of lipid goals.