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The longer you have high cholesterol, the worse it is for you. You’ve probably heard that high cholesterol is bad for your heart, but doctors have just gained a new understanding of how your risk for heart disease can change depending on how long your cholesterol is high. “Having high cholesterol in your 30s and 40s increases your risk for heart disease, and the longer it stays elevated, the greater the risk. A study recorded how many years each of the subjects had had elevated cholesterol levels. After controlling for sex, smoking, diabetes and other conditions that influence heart disease risk, the study found that cardiovascular disease rates increased 4.4 percent with age for those who had never had elevated cholesterol, 8.1 percent for those who had had it for one to 10 years, and 16.5 percent for those who had had it for 11 to 20 years.” The study didn’t look at what the effects of treating this early high cholesterol would be, but researchers are hoping to start new studies in the future to see how changing cholesterol levels early on, either with lifestyle or with medications, might affect this heart disease risk.
