High risk women missing out on cholesterol treatment

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Only around one third of women with high cholesterol are having treatment to lower their levels.
It is known that bringing down levels of cholesterol can save lives and reduce the risk of a heart attack. Yet a new study shows how two thirds of women with dangerously high cholesterol do not get treatment.

The report comes from a team at Columbia University in New York, who looked at a database of over one million people, identifying 8,353 women with heart disease or at high risk of developing it. Only seven per cent did not have high cholesterol. And of those who did only one third were receiving the cholesterol-lowering medication that would have helped them. It is not clear why this was happening, but it is time to educate both the public and physicians on the importance of cholesterol management.

Source
Circulation 1st February 2005