Lipid lowering in liver and chronic kidney disease

Lipid lowering, particularly with HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (“statins”), reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Patients with chronic liver and kidney disease present challenges to the use of lipid medications. In the case of most liver disorders, the concern has been one of safety. There is evidence that most lipid-lowering medications can be used safely in many situations, although large outcomes trials are not available. In contrast, in chronic kidney disease, dosing of lipid medications may require substantial modification depending on creatinine clearance. There are significant alterations in lipid metabolism in chronic kidney disease with concomitant increases in cardiovascular risk. Some data are available on cardiovascular outcomes with dyslipidemia treatment in renal patients. This review will examine lipid physiology and cardiovascular risk in specific liver and kidney diseases and review the evidence for lipid lowering and the use of statin and non-statin therapies in chronic liver and kidney disease.