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New Ways to Treat Cholesterol

There is a very good reason that high cholesterol is a concern for so many people. Increased levels of cholesterol can present serious risks to an otherwise healthy person. While monitoring cholesterol with proper diet and exercise is important, the first step to conquering cholesterol is having a clear understanding of the facts.

In May 2001 the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) issued important new clinical cholesterol guidelines. This was the first update in ten years, released in an effort to help adults manage and prevent increases in their cholesterol levels.

The NCEP, in cooperation with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, developed new cholesterol guidelines through research and study. The guidelines show significant changes in the following areas:

* More insistent treatments to reduce cholesterol

* Identifying patients at high risk of heart disease

* A new stage at which low high-density lipoprotein, or low HDL, poses a major high risk factor for heart disease

* New therapeutic lifestyle changes that can increase the ability to improve cholesterol levels

* A greater focus on the cluster of heart disease risk factors known as "the metabolic syndrome", as related to insulin resistance

* Increased awareness surrounding treatment, with more aggressive treatment of high triglycerides.

By following these guidelines, the NCEP anticipated a considerable increase in the number of Americans undergoing treatment for high cholesterol. These numbers, in fact, did increase. The number of patients taking dietary treatments rose from 52 million to 65 million. In addition, an estimated 36 million patients were taking cholesterol-reducing drugs, up from the previous number of 13 million.

The 2001 report showed that diabetes poses a great risk of heart disease, and suggests that people with diabetes should undergo the same intensive treatment as those suffering heart disease. These treatments include medication and lifestyle changes.

As a result of the new cholesterol guidelines, there is now a widely used tool that was developed to help predict a patient's chance of developing heart disease within a ten-year span. This tool is able to calculate the risk of women and men separately. A group called the Adult Treatment Patients (ATP) highly recommends this tool for assessing patients presenting two or more risk factors for heart disease.

Other changes presented in the new cholesterol guidelines include:

* A better high cholesterol treatment for diabetics. People with Type 2 diabetes face a high short-term risk of having a coronary episode, and a higher risk of suffering a fatal heart attack.

* The use of a lipoprotein profile as the first step in testing for high cholesterol. This profile is the measurement of the levels of HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, triglycerides and other fatty substances found in the bloodstream.

* Increased use of natural methods like nutrition, weight control and physical activity as treatments for high blood cholesterol levels.

* The identification of a "metabolic syndrome" of the risk factors relating to insulin resistance.

* Advising patients to stop using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a substitute for other cholesterol-reducing medications.

Over a ten-year span, great advances were realized in the areas of high cholesterol treatments. Because of the findings of the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program, we now have a greater understanding of the effects of high cholesterol, and doctors can take advantage of better treatment options.