All patients should be counseled regarding the need for lifestyle modification: weight control; increased physical activity; alcohol moderation; sodium reduction; and emphasis on increased consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products.12 16 (Level of Evidence: B) 2. Patients with blood pressure $140/90 mm Hg should be treated, as tolerated, with blood pressure medication, treating initially with b-blockers and/or ACE inhibitors, with addition of other drugs as needed to achieve goal blood pressure.12,17,18 (Level of Evidence: A) Lipid management Goal: Treatment with statin therapy; use statin therapy to achieve an LDL-C of ,100 mg/dL; for very high risk* patients an LDL-C ,70 mg/dL is reasonable; if triglycerides are $200 mg/dL, non HDL-C should be ,130 mg/dL, whereas non HDL-C ,100 mg/dL for very high risk patients is reasonable Note: The writing committee anticipates that the recommendations will be reviewed when the updated ATP guidelines are released. Class I 1. A lipid profile in all patients should be established, and for hospitalized patients, lipid-lowering therapy as recommended below should be initiated before discharge.20 (Level of Evidence: B) 2. Lifestyle modifications including daily physical activity and weight management are strongly recommended for all patients.19,29 (Level of Evidence: B) 3. Dietary therapy for all patients should include reduced intake of saturated fats (to ,7% of total calories), trans fatty acids (to ,1% of total calories), and cholesterol (to ,200 mg/d).21 24,29 (Level of Evidence: B) 4. In addition to therapeutic lifestyle changes, statin therapy should be prescribed in the absence of contraindications or documented adverse effects.25 29 (Level of Evidence: A) 5. An adequate dose of statin should be used that reduces LDL-C to ,100 mg/dL AND achieves at least a 30% lowering of LDL-C.25 29 (Level of Evidence: C) 6. 