Cholesterol Awareness Saving Lives More Americans Getting Healthy Heart Message

Americans are getting the healthy heart message about eating lean and monitoring their cholesterol levels. And the increased awareness is paying off with fewer heart attack deaths, federal officials say.

A cholesterol awareness survey released Monday by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute showed more than 90 percent of Americans know about the risk of high blood cholesterol, and about three of every four adults have had their blood cholesterol levels checked.

The study found 79 percent of Americans know there is a “good” and a “bad” cholesterol, and 69 percent know the desirable total blood cholesterol level is below 200.

That is in sharp contrast to cholesterol awareness just nine years ago when only 16 percent of Americans recognized the health consequences of blood chemistry.

More Americans also are choosing lower-fat options in their diet, such as using skim milk instead of whole milk or using margarine instead of butter, the survey found. The results suggest a slow but growing change toward more healthy eating.

Elevated levels of low density lipoproteins (LDL), the so-call bad cholesterol, are generally recognized now by doctors to increase the risk of heart attack. Increased levels of high density lipoproteins (HDL), the so-called good cholesterol, are considered beneficial.

The survey also found more doctors are taking cholesterol numbers very seriously and are more aggressively treating patients with drugs that lower them.

The study found doctors now are more apt to follow federal guidelines about monitoring cholesterol levels and will more quickly start diet and drug treatment if their patients’ levels are elevated.

Dr. James Cleeman of the institute said the increased awareness “is saving many lives.”

“The cholesterol message is being heard by physicians and the public,” he said. “Fat consumption is down, cholesterol levels have dropped and cardiovascular mortality rates continue to decline.”

Since 1972, he said, deaths caused by cholesterol-related heart disease have dropped by about half, and indications are the rate will continue to decline.