High Cholesterol in Early Adulthood Linked to Long-Term Risk of Heart Disease
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Early detection of high cholesterol could be a major help in minimizing the development of heart disease, researchers said.
According to a study published in the journal Circulation, adults in their 30s and 40s may want to begin monitoring their cholesterol. Researchers looked at more than 1,400 healthy individuals who were split into groups based on whether they did not have high cholesterol, had had high cholesterol for one to 10 years or had had high cholesterol for 11 to 20 years. The individuals who had dealt with high cholesterol for a longer period of time were significantly more likely to develop heart disease later in life.
At a 15-year follow-up with researchers, coronary heart disease was recorded at a 4.4-percent rate among those who had not suffered from high cholesterol by age 55. That figure jumped to 8.1 percent for those who had had high cholesterol for one to 10 years and 16.5 percent for those who had dealt with high cholesterol levels for more than 11 years.
The study did not make recommendations for whether younger adults should be given a cholesterol-lowering medication.
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