GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There are new recommendations for managing cholesterol by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. One in 4 American adults is estimated to have low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). This buildup of fatty deposits in arteries can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
The new guidelines emphasize screening and intervention for high cholesterol at a younger age. They also suggest the use of medications like statins when diet, exercise and lifestyle changes do not lower cholesterol.
“The recognition that the previous guidelines were a little bit too conservative, that we should be starting screening for cholesterol, high cholesterol, and treating high cholesterol maybe a decade or two or sooner than we have been doing to prevent bad outcomes,” said Dr. Charles Hong, chair of medicine at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine…