By
LAURAN NEERGAARD November 11, 2019
WASHINGTON
(AP) — Some good health news: Americans’ cholesterol levels are dropping, and
more people at especially high risk are getting treatment.
Researchers
say Monday’s report suggests a controversial change in recommendations for
cholesterol treatment may be starting to pay off.
“It is
very heartening,” said Dr. Pankaj Arora of the University of Alabama at
Birmingham, who led the study. “But there is more to do.”
Heart
disease is the world’s leading killer and high cholesterol is a key risk factor
— but not the only one. Doctors long treated patients based mostly on their
level of so-called “bad” cholesterol, whether they had other risks or not. In
2013, national guidelines urged them instead to focus more on people’s overall
heart risk, by taking into account age, blood pressure, diabetes and other
factors. Those at highest risk would get the most benefit from
cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
The
Alabama team examined records from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention that tracked cholesterol information from more than 32,000 adults
between 2005 and 2016.
Among
people taking cholesterol medication, the average level of that “bad”
cholesterol — what’s known as LDL cholesterol — dropped 21 points over the
study period, the researchers reported in the Journal of the American College
of Cardiology. It was declining even before the 2013 guidelines but continued
to inch down afterward.
Total
cholesterol levels and another fat known as triglycerides likewise decreased.
“These
are surprisingly impressive results” that together predict a 15% to 20%
reduction in risk of heart attacks and strokes, said Dr. Michael Miller,
preventive cardiology chief at the University of Maryland Medical Center, who
wasn’t involved with the study.
Moreover,
there was an uptick in statin use by people with diabetes over the study
period, from less than half to over 60% getting one. Diabetics are particularly
vulnerable to heart attacks and tend to have poorer outcomes.
“It’s
very important for those with a diagnosis of diabetes to not get that first
heart attack,” said Dr. Neil J. Stone, a cardiologist at Northwestern
University. He led development of the 2013 guidelines from the American College
of Cardiology and American Heart Association, and he co-authored an update last
year.
Arora
cautioned that other high-risk groups haven’t seen an increase in treatment —
and that still too many Americans don’t know if they have a cholesterol
problem.
The
advice for consumers? If you haven’t had a cholesterol check recently, get one,
Miller said.
Testing
is easier than ever, as fasting no longer is required. Especially if you have
additional risk factors, high cholesterol should spark a frank conversation
about diet, exercise and the pros and cons of statins.
The
Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is
solely responsible for all content.
No comments:
Post a Comment