New study suggests changing cholesterol guidelines

Approximately 75 percent of patients who were hospitalized for a heart attack had supposedly healthy levels of cholesterol, according to current national guidelines.


This is the finding of a new national study that may spark a change in cholesterol level guidelines and suggests those who may have a healthy level of cholesterol may want to lower it further to reduce the risk of a heart attack.


Dr Gregg C Fonarow, the principal investigator of the study, said the current guidelines may not be low enough to cut heart attack risk in some patients.


"The study gives us new insight and intervention ideas to help reduce the number of heart attacks.

This is one of the first studies to address lipid levels in patients hospitalized for a heart attack at hospitals across the entire country," said Fonarow.


The doctor, as well as his research team, also suggest developing better treatments to raise HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), which may help reduce the number of patients hospitalized for heart attacks in the future.


Senior citizens who want to lower their risk of heart attacks may want to look into different diets since some foods have been shown to naturally lower cholesterol.


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