Private MD News

Cholesterol treatments may benefit healthy individuals

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Even healthy individuals may benefit from cholesterol testing, as a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that treating the early warning signs of heart disease may help prevent the development of the condition.

Researchers said that individuals who are mostly healthy but have high levels of C-reactive protein which is associated with high levels of inflammation may benefit from taking statin medications, which are commonly prescribed for patients with high cholesterol.

The report, which was published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, indicates that prescribing these medications to individuals with high C-reactive protein levels could decrease strokes and heart attacks by as much as 40 percent.

Donald Smith, director of Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, told BusinessWeek that the findings could help doctors identify patients who are risk of developing heart problems.

"This potentially could change guidelines as to how you screen and treat those men and women in this particular age population, which is over the age of 50 in men and 60 in women," he said.