Contact: Nicole Napoli, nnapoli@acc.org, 202-375-6523

WASHINGTON (Jun 24, 2015) -

The American College of Cardiology Statin Intolerance App is now available to help guide clinicians through the process of managing and treating patients who report muscle symptoms while on statin therapy.

Although muscle symptoms may occur while on statin therapy, true statin intolerance is uncommon. Because of the  abundance of research showing the benefits of statin therapy for heart disease risk reduction, clinicians should partner with patients in determining if the patient is truly statin intolerant and manage and treat a patient reporting muscle symptoms while on a statin with cycles of discontinuation and rechallenge to identify a tolerated statin and dose.

The ACC Statin Intolerance App is designed to help guide this process. Using the app, clinicians can answer questions to evaluate possible intolerance to a patient’s current statin prescription, follow steps to manage and treat a patient who reports muscle symptoms on a statin, and compare statin characteristics and drug interactions to inform management of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, related risks. The app may also be helpful as a resource and teaching tool for students, trainees and clinicians less familiar with standard guidance and protocols for addressing statin intolerance.

The ACC Statin Intolerance App was developed as part of the ACC’s LDL: Address the Risk Initiative, a quality program designed to improve patient outcomes by increasing awareness of the gaps in managing cholesterol, including the importance of managing the risks of high LDL, or “bad” cholesterol.” The app is also part of a larger and ongoing effort by the College to help its members and other clinicians translate guidelines and other clinical policy statements into practice at the point of care. Content in the app was derived from the ACC/AHA’s 2013 Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults as well as prescribing information from each statin.

Financial support for the LDL: Address the Risk Initiative was provided by Amgen Inc.  All of the content was independently developed with no sponsor involvement.

The ACC Statin Intolerance App is available for free in both Web and mobile versions, at http://tools.acc.org/StatinIntolerance or in the iTunes or Google Play app stores.

The American College of Cardiology is a 49,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more information, visit acc.org.

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