In a new study, researchers found that having elevated cholesterol during the teens or early twenties increases a person’s risk of having a heart attack, stroke during middle age.
This increased risk persists even in those who were able to get their cholesterol levels down to a healthy level before reaching their late thirties.
The research makes a strong case for doctors to intervene early to treat high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called “bad” type of cholesterol.
It also provides guidance for future intervention studies aimed at stemming the worldwide epidemic of heart disease and stroke.
The study was conducted by a team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).
In the study, the team used data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA).
This ongoing study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, began 35 years ago, recruiting 5,000 young adults aged 18 to 30.
The team found having an elevated LDL cholesterol level at a young age raises the risk of developing heart disease, and the elevated risk persists even in those who were able to later lower their LDL cholesterol levels.
For instance, two people with the same cholesterol level at age 40 may have very different risks of having a heart attack or stroke with the risk being higher for the person who had higher cholesterol as a teenager.
The team says damage to the arteries done early in life may be irreversible and appears to be cumulative.
This underscores the importance of regular cholesterol screenings beginning in early adulthood to help reduce this time of high exposure.
Moreover, doctors may want to consider prescribing lifestyle changes and also medications to lower high LDL cholesterol levels in young adults in order to prevent problems further down the road.
One author of the study is Michael Domanski, MD, a Professor of Medicine at UMSOM.
The study is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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