Panel urges strong cholesterol tactics :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Panel urges strong cholesterol tactics

Posted by admin on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 01:23 AM

People at high or moderate risk for a heart attack or stroke should be treated even more aggressively than currently recommended to lower blood-cholesterol levels, according to treatment guidelines to be released today by an expert panel.
People at high or moderate risk for a heart attack or stroke should be treated even more aggressively than currently recommended to lower blood-cholesterol levels, according to treatment guidelines to be released today by an expert panel. The changes, which could affect millions of Americans, include lowering the threshold at which patients at high risk for heart attacks begin treatment with cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins. Instead of receiving treatment only if their "bad," or LDL, cholesterol values are 130 milligrams per deciliter or higher, they should be given the drugs at 100 or above, the experts recommended. In addition, the committee suggested a new treatment option for patients at especially high risk of having a heart attack within 10 years: lowering their LDL levels to below 70 milligrams per deciliter. The recommendations, published in the journal Circulation, were drafted by the National Cholesterol Education Program. They have been endorsed by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

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