Your patient’s LDL-C is still above goal. What should you do next? Dr. Heather Johnson and Professor Viet Le put the 2026 dyslipidemia guidelines into clinical context and discuss how to use PREVENT-ASCVD, lipoprotein(a), and other risk markers to tailor treatment, set LDL goals, and determine when to move beyond statins; They also tackle the barriers that can stall treatment, from statin intolerance and prior authorizations to conversations with patients and missed follow-up lipid tests. 

New risk tools, lower LDL-C goals, more treatment options…hear what changes for your next patient visit.

Cholesterol Conversations is independently developed and produced by Vasculearn Network, with grant support from Esperion and Amgen.

00:00  Introduction and 2026 guideline overview

01:24  PREVENT-ASCVD risk assessment and personalized care

07:53  Statin, nonstatin, and combination therapy

13:39  Implementation barriers and medication adherence

18:27  Prior authorization and therapeutic inertia

20:47  Equity, access, and gaps in lipid care

22:39  Practical takeaways

Continuing Education and Learner Information

This online activity is available October 1, 2026, through October 1, 2027. To receive credit, listen to the entire episode and complete the evaluation. Partial credit is not available.

Accreditation: This activity was planned and implemented by Amedco LLC and Vasculearn Network. Amedco LLC is jointly accredited by ACCME, ACPE, and ANCC to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. Amedco Joint Accreditation Provider Number: 4008163.

• Physicians: Maximum of 0.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Claim only the credit commensurate with your participation.

• Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians: Maximum of 0.50 knowledge-based CPE contact hours. UAN: JA4008163-9999-26-228-H01-P.

• Nurses: Maximum of 0.50 ANCC contact hours.

Learning objectives: After completing this activity, learners should be able to: 

• Apply the 2026 ACC/AHA PREVENT-ASCVD risk framework to assess cardiovascular risk and establish LDL-C goals; 

• Select non-statin therapies based on risk, gap to goal, tolerability, and guideline-directed sequencing;

• Distinguish statin intolerance from nonadherence when considering non-statin therapy;

• Describe the role of combination lipid-lowering therapy in achieving guideline-recommended LDL-C targets in patients with statin intolerance or residual risk, with attention to complementary mechanisms of action and real-world barriers to intensification

Commercial support: Esperion and Amgen provided financial support. No in-kind commercial support was received.

Financial relationship disclosures: 

• Heather Johnson: Consultant relationships with Amgen, Novartis, Medtronic, and Esperion, and a speakers bureau relationship with Esperion. 

• Viet Le: Consultant relationships with Amarin, Amgen, Arrowhead, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, BridgeBio, Esperion, Idorsia, iRhythm, Merck, Novartis, and Pfizer. 

• Courtney Battaglia, Sarah Bor, Aviva Schwartz, and Naomi Terlouw disclosed no relevant financial relationships. 

All disclosed relationships were reviewed and resolved.

Claim your certificate: 

• Visit vn.cmecertificateonline.com

• Select “2026–2027 Cholesterol Conversations Podcast”

• Complete the evaluation. 

• Pharmacists must request their certificate within 30 days of participation for submission to CPE Monitor; the official Statement of Credit is available through CPE Monitor. 

• For certificate assistance, visit help.cmecertificateonline.com. 

• If you seek credit for a specialty not listed above, check eligibility with your licensing or certification board.