Comparative Studies of Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs 58 Appendix A: Evidence Review Methodology 59 A. Developing the Key Questions 59 B. Conducting the Systematic Evidence Review 65 C. Convening the Face-to-face Meeting 71 D. Grading Recommendations 71 E. Recommendation Categorization 75 F. Drafting and Submitting the Final Clinical Practice Guideline 76 Appendix B: Cardiovascular Disease Risk Calculators 78 Appendix C: Pharmacotherapy 79 Appendix D: Patient Education on the Mediterranean Diet 81 Appendix E: Patient Focus Group Methods and Findings 82 B. Patient Focus Group Findings 82 Appendix F: Evidence Table 84 Appendix G: 2014 Recommendation Categorization Table 88 Appendix H: Participant List 93 Appendix I: Abbreviation List 95 Appendix J: Literature Search Strategy 97 A. EMBASE with EMBASE.com Syntax 97 B. MEDLINE with Ovid Syntax 106 Appendix K: Alternative Text Description of Algorithm 115 Algorithm: Management of Dyslipidemia for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction 115 References 118 I. Introduction The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) Evidence-Based Practice Work Group (EBPWG) was established and first chartered in 2004, with a mission to advise the Health Executive Committee (HEC) on the use of clinical and epidemiological evidence to improve the health of the population across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Military Health System (MHS), by facilitating the development of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the VA and DoD populations.[1] This CPG is intended to provide healthcare providers with a framework by which to evaluate, treat, and manage the individual needs and preferences of patients with dyslipidemia, thereby leading to improved clinical outcomes. In 2014, the VA and DoD published a CPG for the Management of Dyslipidemia for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction (2014 VA/DoD Dyslipidemia CPG), which was based on evidence reviewed from January 2010 through February 2014. 