When people’s bad cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is high, they actually have a much higher risk of developing high blood pressure, stroke and even heart disease. As such, it is advisable for them to lower their LDL level.
A recent study by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco showed that over the last decade, the number of patients who have lowered their LDL to the recommended level has nearly doubled in 9 countries, namely Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the United States.
Published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation on June 22, 2009, the findings revealed that patients in the United States, Brazil, France and South Korea had accepted a combination of medical treatment and lifestyle changes to improve their bad cholesterol.
In the study, close to 10,000 people with an average age of 62 were surveyed. The number of patients, who had successfully reached their target LDL level, was found to rise from 38 percent to 73 percent over the last 10 years.
On the other hand, only 30 percent of the high-risk patients, who have existing coronary artery disease or risk factors such as obesity, diabetes or smoking, had successfully reached their target LDL of 70mg per deciliter or less.
Although there is still some room for improvement, particularly in very high-risk patients, the results did indicate that LDL-lowering therapy has been applied much more successfully than it had been a decade ago.
The target LDL level in the United States depends on how many risk factors are present in the patient.
For patients without coronary artery disease, diabetes, or other cardiovascular risk factors, the ideal LDL is 160 mg/dL or less. People without either coronary artery disease or diabetes but with at least 2 other risk factors should keep their LDL level to less than 130 mg/dL
Patients who have cardiovascular diseases or diabetes should keep their bad cholesterol level no higher than 100 mg/dL, and should try to maintain a level lower than 70 mg/dL if they also have other risk factors.
A recent study by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco showed that over the last decade, the number of patients who have lowered their LDL to the recommended level has nearly doubled in 9 countries, namely Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the United States.
Published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation on June 22, 2009, the findings revealed that patients in the United States, Brazil, France and South Korea had accepted a combination of medical treatment and lifestyle changes to improve their bad cholesterol.
In the study, close to 10,000 people with an average age of 62 were surveyed. The number of patients, who had successfully reached their target LDL level, was found to rise from 38 percent to 73 percent over the last 10 years.
On the other hand, only 30 percent of the high-risk patients, who have existing coronary artery disease or risk factors such as obesity, diabetes or smoking, had successfully reached their target LDL of 70mg per deciliter or less.
Although there is still some room for improvement, particularly in very high-risk patients, the results did indicate that LDL-lowering therapy has been applied much more successfully than it had been a decade ago.
The target LDL level in the United States depends on how many risk factors are present in the patient.
For patients without coronary artery disease, diabetes, or other cardiovascular risk factors, the ideal LDL is 160 mg/dL or less. People without either coronary artery disease or diabetes but with at least 2 other risk factors should keep their LDL level to less than 130 mg/dL
Patients who have cardiovascular diseases or diabetes should keep their bad cholesterol level no higher than 100 mg/dL, and should try to maintain a level lower than 70 mg/dL if they also have other risk factors.
Actually, right now I am suffering from a blockage in the coronary artery and was once blocked up to 85%. I got the stent implantation which is a mesh like spring which is used to broaden the artery and hence restoring back the blood flow. You can see further information regarding stent operation from www.heartsite.com/html/stent.html. I got to know everything regarding my stent operation from this site. I was really unaware of such a blockage. I sometimes feel dizzy, restless, lazy , but thought that to be something related to mental ability, and hence never worried about it. Once I got my basic medical checkup at Elite health medical office in Los Angeles. The ECG report went to be something suspicious. So, they advised me to have further advance diagnosis to determine and assure regarding the problem in the heart. After my MRI , CT scan and other such scans it came to me as a shock that I was facing a problem of blockage. It was quite surprising to me, and as I was not aware of anything regarding this, I was really frightened. The doctors explained me every information regarding my health and its treatment, and suggested me to have stent operation. That was some dreadful days of my life, which I faced only because I was careless about my health. It was my luck that I somehow went for a basic checkup at elite health, but every woman out there may not be so lucky.
ReplyDeleteAside from the important points you mentioned above, it is also important for people to be aware that lowering their triglycerides levels is an essential step in minimizing their risk of having coronary heart disease or a stroke.
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