Aggressively lowering high cholesterol can cut the risk of heart attack or stroke by about a third among people with clogged arteries, a new study says.
“Targeting an LDL-C level of less than 55 mg/dL leads to a significantly lower three-year risk of major cardiovascular events compared with the conventional target of 70 mg/dL, without compromising safety,” lead researcher Dr.
Byeong-Keuk Kim said in a news release. He's director of cardiac catheterization and intervention at Severance Hospital at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Guidelines have lowered the recommended LDL levels for people with clogged arteries from less than 70 mg/dL to less than 55 mg/dL, but the evidence supporting this move has been scanty, researchers said. For this new study, researchers recruited more than 3,000 people at 17 hospitals and clinics in South Korea. All had atheroscleroticAfter three years, those assigned the lower target had achieved a median 56 mg/dL level, and those with the higher target a median 66 mg/dL level. After three years, about 6.6% of people in the lower-target group died or had heart problems, compared with 9.7% of those at the higher target – a 33% reduced risk for those who more aggressively lowered their cholesterol. “The consistency across the overall population and key subgroups suggests that the benefit of targeting LDL-C lower than 55 mg/dL is broadly applicable across the spectrum of patients with ASCVD and is not limited to specific patient subsets,” Kim said. Results also showed that aggressive cholesterol lowering did not result in any added risk for patients. The study comes shortly after the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association updated guidelines to suggest lifelong screening and treatment for elevated cholesterol, starting with testing in childhood and cholesterol-lowering drugs prescribed as early as a person's 30s.Cholesterol Levels: What the Numbers Mean What do cholesterol numbers mean? LDL, HDL, good, bad, and triglycerides - Get the facts on cholesterol, blood testing, medications, and how to keep your cholesterol in check.
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