Keeping Cholesterol Under Control

Like the literary split personality, it has a good side because it is needed for certain important body functions. But for many Americans, cholesterol also has an evil side. When present in excessive amounts, it can injure blood vessels and cause heart attacks and stroke.

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Food for Thought

One of the main ways blood cholesterol can reach undesirable levels is through a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Fatty cholesterol deposits can collect in blood vessels, raising the risk of heart disease.
Drugs, exercise, and other therapies may be prescribed. But in many cases, cholesterol levels can be lowered by revising dietary habits and limiting the kinds of foods known to boost cholesterol, such as those high in saturated fat.

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Cholesterol: An Equal Opportunity Killer

The latest studies show a surprising picture. When you compare statistics, you find that heart attack is the No. 1 killer of American women. Of the nearly 500,000 heart attack deaths that occur each year, over 233,000 are women, and more than 87,000 women die each year of stroke. By comparison, about 43,000 women die each year from breast cancer and over 55,000 from lung cancer.

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Cholesterol-Lowering Medications and You

To reach an LDL-cholesterol goal of less than 100 mg/dL, you may need to take a cholesterol-lowering medicine in addition to making life habit changes. Heart disease patients and those at high risk for developing heart disease need to lower their LDL more than other people. As a result, medications are more often used by patients with heart disease and those at high risk than by those who do not have heart disease or who have a lower risk of developing it.

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