High Cholesterol Should Be Treated Much Earlier To Decrease Risk Of Heart Disease

A new U.S. study finds that people aged 35 to 55 – and even younger -- should be paying more attention to their cholesterol levels, or they will face health problems as they get older. The study analyzed data collected on 1,478 adults who were free of heart disease at age 55. Researchers calculated how long each participant had high cholesterol by age 55; they followed them for as long as 20 years to find out whether higher cholesterol levels affected the risk of heart disease. They found that each decade of high cholesterol raised the risk of heart disease by 39 percent. In other words, the cumulative effects of even mildly or moderately high cholesterol levels posed a significant risk to heart health.