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Home | Disease & Illness | Skin Cancer In May 2001, the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) issued important clinical cholesterol guidelines. This update was the first in ten years, and was prepared with hopes of helping adults manage their cholesterol levels, and prevent an increase. The NCEP, in cooperation with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, developed new cholesterol guidelines through research and study. The guidelines show significant changes in the following areas: * An increase in more insistent cholesterol-reducing treatments * Identification of patients at high risk of heart disease * A new stage at which low HDL, or low high-density lipoprotein, can pose a major high risk factor for heart disease * Improved therapeutic lifestyle changes to increase the ability to improve cholesterol levels * A greater focus on the cluster of risk factors in heart disease called "the metabolic syndrome", as related to insulin resistance * Greater awareness concerning the treatment, and more aggressive treatment of high triglycerides. Under these new guidelines, the NCEP anticipated a considerable increase in the number of Americans undergoing treatment for high cholesterol. The numbers did, in fact, increase. The cases of patients taking dietary treatments rose from 52 million to 65 million. An estimated 36 million patients were taking cholesterol-reducing drugs, up from the previous number of 13 million. The 2001 report showed that diabetes poses a great risk of heart disease, and also suggested that people with diabetes should undergo the same intensive treatment as those suffering heart disease. These treatment methods include lifestyle changes and medication. As a result of the new cholesterol guidelines, there is now a widely used tool that was developed to help predict a patient's chance of developing heart disease within a ten-year span. This tool is able to calculate the risk of women and men separately. A group called the Adult Treatment Patients (ATP) highly recommends this tool for assessing patients presenting two or more risk factors for heart disease. There were other changes presented in the new cholesterol guidelines, as follows: * Improved high cholesterol treatments for diabetics. Type 2 diabetes poses a higher short-term risk of having a coronary episode, and a higher risk of a heart attack fatality. * Using a lipoprotein profile as the first step in testing for high cholesterol. This is the measurement of the levels of HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, triglycerides and other fatty substances found in the bloodstream. * Increased use of natural methods like nutrition, weight control and physical activity as treatments for high blood cholesterol levels. * The identification of a "metabolic syndrome" of the risk factors relating to insulin resistance. * Advising patients to stop using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a substitute for other cholesterol-reducing medications. Throughout a ten year span, there were great advancements made in high cholesterol treatment methods. The findings of the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program have provided a greater understanding of the effects of high cholesterol. As a result, doctors are able to access and take advantage of better treatment options. Article Source: http://www.articlewheel.com
Columnist Eunice Gaelek is a freelancer for a variety of web magazines, on health information and senior health subjects.
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