Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in the US and worldwide, and no widespread screening for this number one killer has been implemented. Traditional risk factor assessment does not fully account for the coronary risk and underestimates the prediction of risk even in patients with established risk factors for atherosclerosis. Coronary artery calcium (CAC) represents calcified atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries. It has been shown to be the strongest predictor of adverse future cardiovascular events and provides incremental information to the traditional risk factors. CAC consistently outperforms traditional risk factors, including models such as Framingham risk to predict future CV events. It has been incorporated into both the European and American guidelines for risk assessment. CAC is the most robust test today to reclassify individuals based on traditional risk factor assessment and provides the opportunity to better strategize the treatments for these subjects (converting patients from intermediate to high or low risk). CAC progression has also been identified as a risk for future cardiovascular events, with markedly increased events occurring in those patients exhibiting increases in calcifications over time. The exact intervals for rescanning is still being evaluated.

Multidetector computed tomography has come a long way in a short time, quickly becoming a standard tool in the cardiac imaging armamentarium. The promise of plaque imaging, combined with both anatomical visualization and stenosis detection, has made this a preferred first line test of many cardiologists and radiologists. This test is well suited to rule out coronary artery disease (obstruction) and still diagnosing subclinical plaque, with may be a good target for anti-atherosclerotic therapies. There has been recent criticism against CT imaging, and cardiac CT specifically, due to the high radiation doses that being employed. New advances have allowed for dramatic dose reductions. These include more routinely performed methods such as dose modulation, and newer methods such as prospective gating or minimizing the field of view. This paper will review the different applications to reduce cardiac CT radiation doses to nominal levels, potentially expanding the applications of cardiac CT by removing one of the biggest barriers.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Despite significant advances in pharmacotherapies and the beneficial effects of statin therapy on ASCVD outcomes and progression of atherosclerosis, residual cardiovascular (CV) risk remains. Extensive evidence has identified the contribution of atherogenic dyslipidaemia, which is particularly characterised by elevated triglycerides (TGL) as a key driver of CV risk, even if low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels are well controlled. Epidemiologic and genetic/Mendelian randomisation studies have demonstrated that elevated TGL levels serve as an independent marker for an increased risk of ischaemic events, highlighting TGLs as a suitable therapeutic target. Clinical studies have shown that omega 3 fatty acids (OM3FA) are effective in lowering TGLs; however, to date, trials and meta-analyses of combined OM3FA products have not demonstrated any clinical CV outcome benefit in patients receiving statins. However, icosapent ethyl (IPE) - a highly purified, stable ethyl ester of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) - has been rigorously demonstrated in multiple studies to be a useful adjunctive therapy to address residual CV risk. EPA is an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid that is incorporated into membrane phospholipid bilayers and is reported to exert multiple beneficial effects along the pathway of coronary atherosclerosis. In this brief review, we will provide an overview of the mode of action of IPE in coronary atherosclerosis, the robust clinical evidence and trial data supporting its use, and expert consensus/recommendations on its use in specific populations, as an adjunct to existing anti-atherosclerotic therapies.

Purpose of review

The treatment of hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) with ω-3 fatty acid preparations adds a novel therapy to reduce cardiovascular disease. This review examines the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid on lipoproteins and the cardioprotective effects in HTG.

Recent findings

The evidence that ω-3 fatty acid therapy at prescription strength is effective and safe at lowering triglyceride levels is growing. Although EPA/docosahexaenoic acid formulations did lower triglyceride levels, an increase in low-density lipoproteins was observed and outcome data were mixed. More recent trials have shown that decreased levels of low-density lipoprotein can be achieved with EPA preparations. Although the cardiovascular outcomes data are not fully available, meta-analysis of available data reports protection against vascular disease.

Summary

The addition of ω-3 fatty acid treatment should be considered in patients with severe HTG as well as high-risk patients for atherosclerotic disease. Emerging data are supportive, but long-term outcome studies are still underway.