London – Having a cholesterol level that’s even slightly high can significantly raise the risk of heart disease, researchers said recently.
For each ten years of raised cholesterol between 35 and 55 the heart disease risk goes up by up to 40 per cent, a US study shows.
Scientists examined 1,478 55-year-olds with no cardiovascular disease, calculated how long each had had high cholesterol, and followed them up over 20 years.
At 55, 389 had one to ten years of elevated cholesterol, 577 had 11 to 20 years and 512 did not have high cholesterol. Those with 11 to 20 years of high cholesterol had a 16.5 per cent overall risk of heart disease, while those with one to ten years of high cholesterol exposure had a 8.1 per cent risk.
Those without high cholesterol had only a 4.4 per cent risk.
Cholesterol levels of 4millimoles per litre were considered raised – or 3.3mmol/L for LDL cholesterol, the so-called bad version.
Around half of British adults have a cholesterol score above 5mmol/L, according to the NHS.
The study, in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, suggested using anti-cholesterol drugs such as statins at younger ages for those most at risk.
Lead author Dr Ann Marie Navar-Boggan, of the Duke Clinical Research Institute in North Carolina, said: ‘Even if you don’t smoke, your blood pressure and weight are normal, and you don’t have diabetes, having elevated cholesterol over many years can cause problems in the long-run.’
Daily Mail