Cholesterol Archive

A new study suggests that older adults who maintain an high level functional fitness have a lower their risk of heart attack, heart failure, and stroke compared with those who are not as fit.

The American Heart Association revamped its online tool, My Life Check, designed to help people prevent cardiovascular disease. Along with other changes, the AHA added healthy sleep duration to the list of seven other factors assessed by the tool. Those factors are maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, being physically active, eating a healthy diet, and keeping blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol at acceptable levels. Each factor (now known as Life's Essential 8) are scored on a scale of 1 to 100 and used to generate a composite cardiovascular health score.

For many people, non-HDL cholesterol (which is total cholesterol minus HDL cholesterol) may be as good as (or even more reliable than) LDL for assessing a person's risk of heart problems.

Elevated LDL cholesterol contributes to cardiovascular disease. Taking statin drugs can substantially lower this risk. But what if a person's LDL level remains too high on their maximally tolerated dose? An expert consensus report lays out a clear path for next steps.

A 2022 study found that women under 55 experiencing heart attacks have different leading risk factors than men in this age group. For women, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, and low household income are strong risk factors for heart attack.

The American Heart Association recently revised its checklist for achieving optimal heart health. Adequate sleep was added, and updates were made to previous recommendations for diet, cholesterol and blood sugar measurements, and nicotine exposure.

Statins continue to be a first-line treatment for many people at risk of heart attacks and strokes. They help reduce cholesterol levels, reduce plaque build-up, and protect against plaque rupturing, and fight inflammation. Possible side effects are often mild, if they occur, and go away after a brief period. Otherwise, people can manage them by changing the dosage or switching to another type of statin, per their doctor's direction.

Long touted as beneficial for heart health, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is more complicated than experts once thought. Some forms of HDL grab cholesterol from the bloodstream and other tissues and transport it to the liver, where it's recycled or disposed, but other types are neutral or perform the opposite action. Most drugs that raise HDL don't seem to prevent heart disease, and very high HDL levels may even be linked to a higher risk.

Hybrid exercise training combines heart-pumping aerobic action with muscle-strengthening moves in the same exercise session. The strategy has the advantage of meeting two key goals of the federal Physical Activity Guidelines in one fell swoop. And it also appears to be one of the best—and most time-efficient—ways for people who are overweight to lower their risk of cardiovascular-related risk factors. Strong muscles boost a person's basal metabolic rate—the amount of energy the body needs to keep working during rest. That improves weight-loss efforts by ramping up the number of calories burned.

People with high triglyceride levels may be candidates for icosapent ethyl (Vascepa), a drug made from highly purified fish oil. It lowers triglycerides and, when taken with a statin, lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from cardiac causes.