Prolonged High Cholesterol in Middle Age Raises Heart Risk Later: Study
Prolonged High Cholesterol in Middle Age Raises Heart Risk Later: Study
Even slightly higher levels took their toll, researchers note
Researchers then followed these adults for up to 20 years past age 55 to see how their exposure to high cholesterol affected their risk of heart disease.
The results showed that a person's long-term "dose" of high cholesterol appears to directly affect their future risk of heart disease:
Navar-Boggan compared extended exposure to high cholesterol to the concept of "pack years" in smoking, where doctors assess a person's health risk by determining how heavily they smoked and for how long.
"We should really be thinking about cholesterol the same way," she said. "What are your cholesterol years?"
Dr. Robert Eckel, past president of the American Heart Association, said if these new results are confirmed in future studies, it could influence guidelines on the use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
Under current guidelines, only one in six adults in this study with extended exposure to high cholesterol would have been recommended for statin therapy at age 40, and one in three would have been at age 50, the researchers noted.
"Only 15 percent would have made the criteria for statin treatment, and that suggests that the guideline was inadequate in addressing patients in this area of risk," said Eckel, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus. "The study identifies people who should have been treated, where the guidelines say they don't meet criteria for treatment."
But Navar-Boggan said she's cautious about making the leap to recommending statins for people in their 30s and early 40s.
People in their 30s definitely should be screened at least once for high cholesterol, she said. Those that age who have high cholesterol should first try to bring their levels down through exercise and a heart-healthy diet.
"We have to be cautious in interpreting this to say that people in their 30s should be taking a statin. That potentially commits them to taking a medication over decades of life," she said, noting that little is known about the long-term health effects of statin use.
High Cholesterol in Middle Age, Heart Risk Later?
Even slightly higher levels took their toll, researchers note
Researchers then followed these adults for up to 20 years past age 55 to see how their exposure to high cholesterol affected their risk of heart disease.
The results showed that a person's long-term "dose" of high cholesterol appears to directly affect their future risk of heart disease:
- Participants with 11 to 20 years of high cholesterol had a 16.5 percent overall risk of heart disease.
- Those with one to 10 years of cholesterol exposure had 8.1 percent risk.
- Those who did not have high cholesterol at the start of the study had only a 4.4 percent risk for heart disease.
Navar-Boggan compared extended exposure to high cholesterol to the concept of "pack years" in smoking, where doctors assess a person's health risk by determining how heavily they smoked and for how long.
"We should really be thinking about cholesterol the same way," she said. "What are your cholesterol years?"
Dr. Robert Eckel, past president of the American Heart Association, said if these new results are confirmed in future studies, it could influence guidelines on the use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
Under current guidelines, only one in six adults in this study with extended exposure to high cholesterol would have been recommended for statin therapy at age 40, and one in three would have been at age 50, the researchers noted.
"Only 15 percent would have made the criteria for statin treatment, and that suggests that the guideline was inadequate in addressing patients in this area of risk," said Eckel, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus. "The study identifies people who should have been treated, where the guidelines say they don't meet criteria for treatment."
But Navar-Boggan said she's cautious about making the leap to recommending statins for people in their 30s and early 40s.
People in their 30s definitely should be screened at least once for high cholesterol, she said. Those that age who have high cholesterol should first try to bring their levels down through exercise and a heart-healthy diet.
"We have to be cautious in interpreting this to say that people in their 30s should be taking a statin. That potentially commits them to taking a medication over decades of life," she said, noting that little is known about the long-term health effects of statin use.
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