Many people in the 30's and even in the 40's continue to fear burgers and other fatty meals without fear and think that they are still "too young" and should not worry about their cholesterol.
A new study showed that slightly elevated levels of cholesterol over the years could affect cardiovascular health in old age.
People at age 55 who have lived with elevated cholesterol for 11-20 years have a twice higher risk of coronary insufficiency compared to peers who have had such problems for 1-10 years.
And if you compare them with those who have a lifetime of cholesterol, then the risk is 4 times higher! These figures can be found in the latest issue of the cardiology journal Circulation.
Dr. Ann Marie Navar-Boggan, cardiologist at the Duke Clinical Research Institute in North Carolina, USA, says: "The risk of cardiovascular events in old age depends directly on the time during which a person was exposed to a high level cholesterol ».
Dr. Navar-Boggan and her colleagues concluded that for every 10 years during which a person had moderately elevated cholesterol, his individual risk of coronary insufficiency rises by 40%.
"At the age of 30-50 years, we continue to lay the foundation for our cardiovascular health in old age," - said the researcher.
A new study was partially funded by U. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Scientists based on the data Framingham Heart Study - one of the largest American research projects dedicated to heart health. Since 1948, families in the city of Framingham, Massachusetts, have allowed scientists to monitor their health.
Scientists took a group of 1,478 adults whose coronary insufficiency did not develop until age 55, and then counted the time during which they had elevated cholesterol levels. They considered it to be a "high" LDL level of more than 130 mg / dL (3.36 mmol / L) - the level that the US National Institutes of Health calls the lower limit of "borderline high" cholesterol.
The researchers observed these participants for 20 years after reaching the age of 55, analyzing the effect of cholesterol on the risk of coronary insufficiency. The results revealed the following:.
Participants who were exposed to high cholesterol for 11-20 years had an overall risk of 16.5%. Those who had cholesterol elevated for 1-10 years had an overall risk of 8.1%. People who had cholesterol regularly , had a risk of 4.4% Dr. Navar-Boghan compared the years of high cholesterol with pack years of smoking, with which doctors determine the risk for smokers.
"We should look at cholesterol just like that. The patient, how many cholesterol-years do you have? ", - she said.
Dr. Robert Eckel, former president of the American Heart Association (ANA), says that if the results are confirmed in future studies, this discovery may affect new guidelines for cardiologists, including those related to statin prescribing.
According to current recommendations, only 1 in 6 adults with an increased risk of coronary insufficiency from this study had to take statins at 40 years of age. And only 1 of 3 - at 50 years of age.
But timely prescribed statins could help almost every one of them.
Scientists and experts who got acquainted with the article, say that the recommendations for statins today need to be finalized. People who already at 30 years of age are diagnosed with high cholesterol should urgently switch to a healthy diet and exercise more. It is too early to say that such people should be recommended statins, but this issue needs to be discussed.
medbe. en.
Keywords:.