In the 2004, millions of Americans who thought their cholesterol levels were fine got a wake-up call when\u00a0new guidelines<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0went into effect.\u00a0At that point, more\u00a0than 10 million people\u00a0were already taking cholesterol-lowering\u00a0drugs (statins). But\u00a0new\u00a0recommendations,\u00a0which modified\u00a0guidelines set by\u00a0the feds\u00a0just two years\u00a0earlier,\u00a0meant both that a few million more people needed to be on statins\u2014and that the existing market (10 million strong) needed to increase their doses.<\/p>\n Before this change, the\u00a0target range for\u00a0LDL\u00a0(so-called “bad\u00a0cholesterol”) was 130.\u00a0Afterward,\u00a0federal health officials\u00a0suggested that LDL should\u00a0be less than 100\u2013that\u2019s 30\u00a0points lower than previously recommended.<\/p>\n There has been much debate over the years about the changes in cholesterol guidelines. (Photo by\u00a0Mark Scrimshire<\/a>\u00a0via Flickr)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Because the change\u00a0was backed by clinical trials, it was quickly\u00a0endorsed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,\u00a0the American Heart Association,\u00a0and the American College of\u00a0Cardiology…in other words, it was endorsed by doctors, some of whom may have had ulterior motives (read on). Other medical professionals felt the evidence<\/a><\/span><\/strong> was not ironclad, especially since statins were associated with adverse side effects, such as CoQ10 depletion and severe muscle conditions.<\/p>\n 2013 brought an even bigger change. By\u00a0expanding the guidelines<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to include\u00a0atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,\u00a0around 13 million were now advised to take statins.<\/p>\n For the makers of statin, business was suddenly booming.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no question: the makers of statin are beneficiaries of lower LDL levels. Interestingly,\u00a0six of the 15 panelists<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0that authored the new guidelines\u00a0reported having recent or current ties to\u00a0pharmaceutical companies\u00a0that already sell or\u00a0were\u00a0developing cholesterol medications\u00a0(a disclosure they were required to make by law). While some simply shrug off this potential conflict of interest,\u00a0others like me\u00a0find it deeply concerning.<\/p>\n But I wouldn\u2019t agree that patients actually benefit. If someone tells you high cholesterol gave them a heart attack, take it with a grain of salt.\u00a0While high cholesterol\u00a0may have\u00a0been a contributing factor, there\u00a0are plenty of other conditions that damage the arteries and cause plaque buildup, including:<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, most deadly heart\u00a0attacks are\u00a0caused by\u00a0unstable plaques breaking off and lodging\u2014NOT by\u00a0chronic buildup\u00a0that\u00a0completely\u00a0closes\u00a0off\u00a0the artery.\u00a0Moreover, the panel never addressed the impact of low HDL (the \u201cgood cholesterol\u201d), which is shown to\u00a0increase cancer risk<\/span><\/strong><\/a>. Does this have anything to do with the fact that there are no successful medications for low HDL? Hmm.<\/p>\n High cholesterol has become\u00a0a universally accepted warning sign\u00a0for heart\u00a0disease.\u00a0But\u00a0many\u00a0in the medical community\u00a0question the current standard of\u00a0care for statin therapy, as these medications may not benefit all patients\u00a0equally.\u00a0In fact,\u00a0The Cochrane Collaboration<\/span><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0a widely respected independent organization, reported that 1,000 people without heart disease would need five\u00a0years of statin treatment to prevent 18 cardiovascular events. So, on average, 56 people need to be treated over\u00a0five\u00a0years to stop\u00a0one\u00a0heart attack.\u00a0Sounds great\u00a0for that\u00a0one person\u2014not so much\u00a0for all the others it didn’t help.<\/p>\n But the\u00a0fact is, your body needs\u00a0cholesterol. Without it, you\u00a0couldn\u2019t manufacture\u00a0adrenal and sex hormones, and you’d be experiencing low energy levels<\/span><\/strong><\/a> and a low sex drive<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, among other things.<\/p>\n Standard cholesterol testing fails to look at important factors like particle dimension and hs-CRP.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n If these standards were up to me, I’d recommend a couple of tests that are nowhere in the federal recommendations.\u00a0For example,\u00a0particle diameter of cholesterol is one of the most important aspects of heart health. The smaller\u00a0the\u00a0particle size, the\u00a0more\u00a0dangerous,\u00a0because\u00a0smaller particles fit\u00a0more\u00a0easily into\u00a0the\u00a0cracks\u00a0of the\u00a0arteries.\u00a0But\u00a0most tests ignore this measurement, and the feds don’t require it.<\/p>\n Standard tests also neglect to look at\u00a0high-sensitivity<\/strong> C-reactive protein<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>(hs-CRP), which can be\u00a0more predictive<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0of a heart attack\u00a0than cholesterol.\u00a0Your levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), which increase with inflammation and infection, can easily be seen with a simple blood test.<\/p>\n Whether you think you\u2019re in the clear, know you\u2019re at risk, or already have high cholesterol, you have options when it comes to prevention and treatment. Pop some statin, lower your cholesterol, and prevent a heart attack. That\u2019s all it takes, right? Unless you absolutely love taking pills, making dietary changes over a defined time period\u00a0is unquestionably\u00a0a safer alternative to medication.<\/p>\n![\"One](\"https:\/\/serprofas.com\/tcfse\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/thumbs-up-down-300x189.jpg\")
<\/a>But How Much Do LDLs Really Matter?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Two Cholesterol Tests That May Be Better Predictors of Your Heart Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Hand](\"https:\/\/serprofas.com\/tcfse\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/cholesterol-test-200x300.jpg\")
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