New cholesterol guidelines could mean your kids will be getting checked
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — New guidelines to handle cholesterol calls for more personalized plans and medication.
The hope is the new individualized screening and care will help health care providers better understand each person’s needs and risks. The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology also recommends new cholesterol-lowering drug options for people with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease.
It also better points doctors towards specific recommendations for certain groups like the elderly, women, minorities and even children.
“When you go take your 2-year-old in for their shots, you’re not thinking about your baby’s cholesterol, but now, even though I don’t treat children, I think this guideline kind of says ‘Hey! This isn’t something, some switch that gets turned on just because you turn 20 or 40,'” said Mayo Clinic Health System Doctor Monique Freund.
The new guidelines also estimate nearly a third of Americans have high levels of LDL, or the ‘bad’, cholesterol.
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