The Heart Protection Study demonstrated how effective statins can be in lowering the risk of cardiovascular events in diabetics (Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group, 2002). There is now a compelling case for all diabetics, regardless of cholesterol content, to be administered a statin. Certainly, you should strive for a total cholesterol level of 5 mmol/l and an LDL cholesterol level of 3 mmol/l. As previously stated, it is equally critical to manage the combination of high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol, and statins are inefficient at reducing this risk. A fibrate may be useful here, however, the combination of fibrate and statin may have substantial negative effects (myositis). Choosing oral hypoglycemic medications