Tyson Schwab, MD, hosts an episode of M.ED Pod with Matthew Wahl, MD, an endocrinologist at University of Utah Health and director of the Lipid Disorder Clinic, to discuss updated cardiovascular risk assessment and lipid management.

Learners will develop an enhanced understanding of lipid disorders and additional information supporting care decisions including:

Updates to the 2026 ACC/AHA Cholesterol Guidelines
Use of the PREVENT Risk Equation
Practical strategies for lipid management

Wahl reviews the March 2026 ACC/AHA guideline update, emphasizing the PREVENT Equation to estimate 10-year risk and guide decisions across risk tiers. They address common statin hesitancy and intolerance, including evaluating secondary causes of symptoms and strategies. Dr. Wahl covers primary vs secondary prevention, when to treat hypertriglyceridemia, therapeutic inertia, and emerging CRISPR PCSK9 gene-editing research.

01:16 New 2026 Risk Calculator

04:36 Statin Hesitancy and Intolerance

07:27 Primary vs Secondary Prevention

09:26 Lifestyle, Meds, and Timing

11:16 Non-statins

14:01 Treating High Triglycerides

16:19 Common Cholesterol Pitfalls

18:14 Future of Lipid Therapy

19:29 Key Takeaways

21:33 Guideline Notes and CME

Having listened to this episode learners should be able to:

Apply current guideline-based strategies for cholesterol management
Identify appropriate use of lifestyle therapy, statins, non-statin medications, and combination therapy based on a patient’s cardiovascular risk profile
Individualize lipid-lowering treatment in complex or common real-world scenarios
Recognize how to manage statin intolerance, residual risk, hyper-triglyceridemia, and patients who do not reach LDL-C targets despite therapy

Additional Resources

The American Heart Association PREVENT™ Online Calculator

High Cholesterol Management – U of U Health Programs

Advanced Imaging to Diagnose Heart Disease

2026 Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines