Understanding the Importance of Lowering Your Cholesterol to Help Decrease Your Risk for Heart Disease Katherine Wilemon from the Family Heart Foundation, and Dr. Abha Khandelwal, Stanford Medicine Cardiologist, Discuss Keeping Your Cholesterol Low to Prevent Heart Disease
New York, NY
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October 04, 2022 03:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/_EQumoCuW6U
High cholesterol is the single biggest cause of illness and death in America affecting more than 94 million adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For some people, it is their genes that lead to very high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. One of the most common causes of genetically high cholesterol is familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). FH impacts 1 in 250 individuals worldwide, and if untreated it leads to early heart attacks and strokes.
There are already decades of research showing that high LDL cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease. And recent data has shown that having lower LDL for longer is one of the best things people can do to reduce your risk for heart disease. While a healthy diet and exercise are important for many reasons, diet and exercise alone cannot lower many people’s cholesterol to a safe level, especially if they have a genetic cholesterol-related disorder.
There are medications that can significantly reduce the level of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Statins are the first line of defense when it comes to getting your LDL-cholesterol to a safer level. A new study on the safety and effectiveness of statins shows the vast majority of people do not have side effects from statins, and they not only reduce the LDL cholesterol, they also reduce the risk for heart attacks and cardiac death. The American College of Cardiology also just updated its expert guidance for medical experts treating patients and suggested an LDL target of less than 55 mg/dL for individuals with established cardiovascular disease.
The Family Heart Foundation has a variety of resources for understanding treatment options for lowering high cholesterol and treating FH. Visit MoreFamiliesMoreHearts.org to learn more.
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