WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Almost half of people who need cholesterol-lowering therapy don't get it, said a new study released this week.
Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine said they have found that many people at greatest risk for high cholesterol aren't getting adequate treatment, although lipid-lowering therapies can reduce the risk of heart and blood-vessel disease by about 30 percent over five years.
The findings appear in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
"Under-treatment of cholesterol disorders is a major public health challenge," said lead author David Goff. "In our study of middle-age and older adults with no symptoms of cardiovascular disease, about a third had cholesterol disorders that would require drug treatment under current guidelines. Yet, only 54 percent of those who needed treatment were getting it."
The authors also found that cholesterol control was lowest in people who were at the highest risk of developing heart vessel disease.
Cholesterol disorders -- such as having "good" cholesterol that is too low or "bad" cholesterol that is too high -- are a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the top cause of death in the United States, the researchers said.
The study data came from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, a population-based study of 6,814 men and women from a variety of ethnic groups who had no known cardiovascular disease.
