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Health News:Cholesterol

Incidence of High Cholesterol Drops in U.S.

November 17, 2009

TUESDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) — The good news is that a new report shows the percentage of American adults with high LDL cholesterol, the “bad” kind that clogs arteries, decreased by about one-third between 1999 and 2006.

The bad news is that too many of those who have dangerously high levels of LDL cholesterol don’t know it, said study author Dr. Elena V. Kuklina, an epidemiologist and senior service fellow at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research is published in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Read More

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New Study Raises New Questions About Cholesterol Drug Zetia

November 16, 2009

SUNDAY, Nov. 15 (HealthDay News) — A new study raises more questions about ezetimibe (Zetia), a drug used by millions of Americans in tandem with statins to lower LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol.

The trial, known as ARBITER-6 HALTS, was stopped early in June after it was discovered that LDL-cholesterol-lowering Zetia was less effective than extended-release niacin (Niaspan), which raises HDL, or “good,” cholesterol levels, in reducing plaque build-up in the arteries. Read More

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Cholesterol Measurements May Be Made Easier

November 11, 2009

TUESDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) — Methods to gauge blood cholesterol to determine vascular disease risk can be simplified, researchers in England say.

Their method measures levels of either total or high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good” cholesterol) in the blood or apolipoproteins (proteins that help transport cholesterol), without the need to have patients fast and without regard to another form of blood fat called triglycerides. Read More

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Statins May Stave Off Gallstones

November 10, 2009

TUESDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) — Long-term use of cholesterol-lowering statins appears to reduce the incidence of gallstones and the need for surgery to prevent the excruciating pain they cause, a new study indicates.

“We’re talking about people who have been taking them for about 1½ years,” said Susan S. Jick, director of the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Study at Boston University and a member of the team reporting the finding in the Nov. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. “The protective effect seems to grow over time. The relative risk for them is about half the risk of someone who is not exposed to a statin.” Read More

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Household Chemicals May Affect Cholesterol Levels

November 2, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) — Chemicals used in food packaging, paper and textile coatings may affect blood cholesterol levels in people, U.S. researchers have found.

Previous studies have found that polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs) are present in the bodies of most people. In this new study, a team at the Boston University School of Public Health analyzed the association between serum cholesterol levels and four PFCs: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS). Read More

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Side Effects in Statin Users Linked to Gene Mutation

October 14, 2009

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) — U.S. researchers have identified a common gene mutation linked to side effects in people taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

Statins can reduce high cholesterol and lower the risk of heart attack or stroke. But 25 percent to 50 percent of people prescribed the potentially lifesaving drugs stop taking them after a year because of side effects, in particular muscle aches. Read More

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Drug Combo May Prevent Heart Attacks, Strokes

October 2, 2009

FRIDAY, Oct. 2 (HealthDay News) — Giving daily doses of a statin and a blood pressure-lowering ACE inhibitor to people at high risk for a heart attack or stroke reduced their incidence by more than 60 percent in two years, researchers report.

People in the study all had diabetes or a history of cardiovascular disease, but the drug regimen probably could provide similar benefits to anyone vulnerable to cardiovascular trouble because of obesity, high blood pressure or simply old age, said Dr. R. James Dudl, diabetes clinic lead at the Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute in Oakland, Calif., and lead author of a report in the October issue of the American Journal of Managed Care. Read More

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Study Suggests a Wider Use for Statins

September 22, 2009

TUESDAY, Sept. 22 (HealthDay News) — Statins could be as beneficial for people with acceptable cholesterol readings but high levels of inflammation as they are for those with high cholesterol levels, a new analysis finds.

An earlier study of more than 17,000 participants, known as the JUPITER trial, found that rosuvastatin (Crestor) cut the risk for serious vascular problems in people whose cholesterol levels were not high while high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels were. Read More

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Metabolic Syndrome May Raise Risk of Peripheral Artery Disease

September 9, 2009

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) — Women with metabolic syndrome are at high risk of developing peripheral artery disease, a condition that dramatically raises the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Using data on more than 27,000 women taking part in the Women’s Health Study, researchers identified participants with metabolic syndrome, a collection of symptoms including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol, high triglyceride levels and insulin resistance. Read More

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Combo Therapies to Lower Cholesterol Don’t Work

September 2, 2009

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) — Despite their popularity, so-called “combination therapies” may not be the most effective treatment for high cholesterol, Canadian researchers report.

In their review, the scientists analyzed data from 102 studies that tested combination therapies involving ezetimibe, niacin, bile acid sequestrants and omega-3 fatty acids. They concluded that there is little evidence to support the widespread use of combination therapies to lower cholesterol.

The results of this comprehensive review of clinical studies are important, as lowering cholesterol has been shown to decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke, and more than 35 million Canadians and Americans are prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs each year, according to a news release from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Read More

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