New Cholesterol Screening Guidelines
Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women...and high cholesterol
is a major risk factor. YET MANY CASES OF HEART DISEASE OCCUR IN PEOPLE WHO
NEVER HAD THEIR CHOLESTEROL CHECKED...THIS FACT UNDERLIES NEW CHOLESTEROL SCREENING
GUIDELINES FROM THE U-S PREVENTIVE SERVICES TASK FORCE. According to its Chairman,
Dr. Alfred Berg (Chair, US Preventive Services Task Force and Chair of the Department
of Family Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle),
Dr. Alfred Berg: "We found strong evidence that clinicians should routinely
screen men beginning at age 35 and women beginning at age 45 for lipid disorders."
DR. BERG
SAYS THAT MEN UNDER 35 AND WOMEN UNDER 45 SHOULD HAVE ANNUAL SCREENING ONLY
IF THEY HAVE OTHER RISK FACTORS FOR HEART DISEASE SUCH AS SMOKING, HIGH BLOOD
PRESSURE, MENOPAUSE, OBESITY, DIABETES, OR FAMILY HISTORY. DR. BERG SAYS THERE
ARE NO GENDER DIFFERENCES IN DETECTION AND TREATMENT OF HIGH CHOLESTEROL...ONLY
THE AGES AT WHICH SCREENING SHOULD BEGIN.
Is there
an age after which you are old enough not to need cholesterol screening
anymore?
Dr. Alfred Berg: "Extrapolating out, though, it looks like the benefits
extend well beyond age 65 into the 70's and 80's; the difficulty is that by
the time a person gets into the oldest age groups they often have other, competing,
risks that are far more important than the cholesterol level."
For more information, click here.
Created: 6/6/2001  - Donnica Moore, M.D.