Cholesterol -- How Low Should You Really Go?

Ivanhoe Newswire
Thursday, October 5, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- In the past few years, medical experts have suggested we lower our cholesterol to a much lower level than ever before, especially if we're at high risk for heart disease.

Now researchers from the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor question those recommendations after they extensively analyzed studies on LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and heart health. They say there is no scientifically valid evidence to support the recommended ultra-low LDL target of less than 70 milligrams/deciliter for very high-risk patients. And they question the widespread LDL goal of less than 100 milligrams/deciliter for high risk patients. 

The new report says it may be better to focus less on cholesterol and more on getting people with several risk factors for heart disease on statin drugs regardless of their cholesterol levels. Statins do a good job lowering LDL cholesterol, but it is not yet clear if lowering cholesterol is the main reason they prevent heart attacks and save lives. Researchers say statins' other benefits may be more important. The drugs also stop inflammation and clotting.

"Current practice guidelines and recommendations often focus on getting LDL as low as possible, but the literature to date doesn't demonstrate that low LDL is what is truly important -- but it does show that statins save lives in high cardiac risk patients regardless of a person's LDL level," reports lead author Rodney Hayward, M.D., VA Center for Health Services Research and Development, University of Michigan Medical School.

The authors stress until there is more evidence on how low cholesterol levels can prevent heart disease the focus should be on getting more people to:

• Eat healthy diets
• Exercise more
• Understand their overall risk of heart disease
• Take a statin if their risk is high.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine, published online Oct. 2, 2006