SCIENCE CONFIRMS LOGIC

 LONG-TERM CHOLESTEROL DANGEROUS

by Eileen Simmons

           We’ve known for a long time that high cholesterol is dangerous and that the longer the condition exists, the more damage it can cause. So it seems logical that high cholesterol in younger people—particularly men—would lead to higher risks for heart disease and heart attacks as those men move from their 20s and 30s to their 40s and 50s.

            A scientific study has confirmed this logic. Dr. Jeremiah Stamler, emeritus professor of preventative medicine at Northwestern University Medical School, studied 81,488 men ages 18 to 39 and followed them for 34 years.  For every 40 points that cholesterol readings increased, young men’s risk of dying of heart attack during the follow-up years at least doubled.

            Another logical conclusion is that you should begin to have cholesterol screening tests when you’re in your teens. The problem here, of course, is that most insurance companies won’t pay for screening tests on the young unless one can prove a family history of cholesterol abnormalities.  When they do test the young, they usually pay for a Total Cholesterol and only cover a more detailed test if the Total Cholesterol is higher than 199.  The assumption is that if the Total Cholesterol is low, then the ratios will be low, as well.  In fact, the HDL or good cholesterol is often very low, while the LDL or bad cholesterol is very high, making the ratio’s abnormal.   This puts young men in a position of depositing plaque on their blood vessel walls silently for many years, which leads to blockage, early heart attacks and strokes.    

            High cholesterol and high triglycerides are the silent killers. You don’t feel their effects until you’re in the emergency room suffering a heart attack.  The blood vessels can be 90% blocked before you feel any change in your health.  At YFH, we hope to test you while you’re healthy and establish your baseline. Subsequent tests can unmask this silent killer and help us help you take further preventative measures.  Please do not assume that because you feel fine that your cholesterol and triglycerides levels are fine.  Check it out thoroughly with a Lipid Profile test that includes 5 tests.  Please do not settle for one test that may miss the real problem, or worse yet zero tests, which definitely leaves you unprotected. 

“News Journal”.  High cholesterol puts young men at risk.  Daytona Beach, Florida.   July 19, 2000.

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