Speakers
Prof. Jack Wei-Chieh TAN
Deputy Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, National Heart Centre, Singapore
Dr Jack Tan graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore in 1997. In 2007, he spent one year at UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento with Dr John Laird to complete his peripheral vascular interventional program. He is doubly accredited for cardiology and intensive care medicine in Singapore. He is the deputy head of cardiology and director of the coronary care unit at the National Heart Centre Singapore and the head of cardiology at Sengkang General Hospital. He is a practising interventional cardiologist and holds associate professor appointments at Duke NUS and lecturer appointment at the Yong Loo Lin Medical School. He was then selected for the executive MBA course and graduated in the Dean’s list for his cohort at the Singapore Management University in 2013. He is a faculty at regional and international meetings like TCT, EuroPCR and AsiaPCR and TCTAP. He is a frequent proctor for inteventional cardiology in countries like China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines. Dr Jack Tan successfully organized the ASEAN Federation of Cardiology Congress 2012 as the scientific chairman and was the organizing chairman for the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology meeting 2017. Currently he is an executive board member at Singapore Heart Foundation, APSIC (Asian Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology) and ISCP(International Society of Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy) . He is the immediate past president of SCS (Singapore Cardiac Society) and immediate past board member (Continental chair) of WHF (World Heart Federation). He is the president-elect of ISCP and standing president of APSC (Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology).
Abstract
Current Lipid-lowering Therapy Landscape Review and the APSC Consensus Statement
Volumes of research in the past half-century has established the role of dyslipidaemia in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. This has also paved the way for the development of lipid-lowering therapies (LLT), including the widely used statins, which have become the cornerstone of practice guidelines worldwide. Other LLTs, such as ezetimibe and bile acid sequestrants, are also recommended, either in combination with statins or as monotherapy, in various international guidelines. Importantly, recent advances, including protein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors, have been shown to dramatically lower various lipid fractions. Hence, these treatments are now finding their way into international guidelines for the treatment of very-high-risk individuals.
With over 60% of the world’s population residing in the Asia-Pacific region, the burden of cardiovascular disease in this part of the world cannot be ignored. However, patients from Asia-Pacific are often under-represented in clinical trials. The region is also characterized by diversity in terms of healthcare systems, access to treatment, cultural influences, and even genetic factors that may influence pharmacotherapy. With all these factors to consider, it can be a challenge for the clinician to formulate rational therapies that account for these important considerations. Hence, in 2019, the Asia Pacific Society of Cardiology (APSC) has worked on developing a series of consensus statements to aid clinicians in the region in rational decision-making. These statements cover a wide range of cardiovascular topics, from the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome in the emergency room, to the appropriate use of pharmacotherapy and catheter-based interventions in the management of coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation and valvular heart disease. The APSC consensus statements also focused on the management of important risk factors, such as diabetes mellitus and dyslipidaemia.
In the consensus statements for dyslipidaemia, the APSC panel defined the criteria for high-risk and very-high-risk individuals. The statements then provided recommendations for treatment for each risk group. Importantly, the APSC panel discussed the role of novel LLTs, after considering the issues and challenges patients in the Asia-Pacific region face. Lastly, as new trends in diagnosis, genetic testing and pharmacotherapy emerge, the APSC panel also considered statements on the management of familial hypercholesterolaemia and lipoprotein (a).