By Steve Carmody, Michigan Public Radio Network
ANN ARBOR, MI –
New University of Michigan research suggests heart attack prevention efforts have
focused too much on one factor that may not be that important.
For decades, doctors and patients have focused on decreasing LDL--or bad'
cholesterol--as key to lowering a patient's risk of suffering a heart attack.
That's often meant doctors prescribing cholesterol lowering drugs, even for
patients with few other risk factors.
But VA Center research director Rodney Hayward says those other risk factors
should be considered more seriously.
"Like whether you smoke, like whether or not you have a family history, all of those things are important too," he says. "And if the only thing that's elevated is your cholesterol these medicines have risks, expenses, nuisances, and you're not very likely to have a heart attack."
Hayward says tailored treatment' will lead to fewer patients taking cholesterol
drugs, reducing health care costs and giving more attention to higher-risk patients.
The study appears in the Annals of Internal Medicine.