Cholesterol screening can prevent heart disease

When it comes to health indicators, some may be more obvious than others.

One that people may not always think about is heart health.

October is Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month. According to the American Heart Association Web site, 80 percent of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in private, residential settings, and coronary heart disease accounts for about 446,000 of the 864,000 adults who die each year as a result of cardiovascular disease.

Yuma cardiologist Dr. Mark Awar said heart disease is the biggest killer in the United States and cholesterol management would be "the keystone to prevent heart disease."

Awar said cholesterol screening should start at age 20, followed by a test every five years if the results are normal.

The test, which requires fasting, checks for a range of indicators in a cholesterol panel, including total cholesterol, HDL (the "good" cholesterol), triglycerides and what Awar said is the most important: the LDL or "bad" cholesterol.

For patients, the total cholesterol should be under 200 mg/dl, Awar said, and the HDL the higher the better. Awar said triglycerides should be below 150 mg/dl. As for the LDL, Awar said that target number depends on the patient and target for treatment.

For people who are healthy and have never had any heart problems, including no risk factors or heart disease, Awar said the total cholesterol should be less than 160, but ideally less than 130.

He said for people who don't have heart disease, but have factors such as family history, high blood pressure or if they smoke, the number should be below 130, ideally close to 100.

One new category - "very high risk patients" - Awar said, are people who've had a major heart attack, had a heart attack or stroke, or a combination. He said the number for those people should be less than 100 or closer to 70.

For more information about the other indicators in the cholesterol panel, check with a health care provider or primary care physician.

Awar said that to help with cholesterol problems, patients can increase good food, exercise and lose weight.

"That is the most effective way."

Patients should also stop smoking, he said.

If those measures don't work, Awar said, medication is available.

Monitoring cholesterol is important to prevent heart disease and heart attacks, he said. It also can help prevent strokes and prevent limb loss due to peripheral arterial disease.

"It's time to get screened and treated if necessary," he said. "If you haven't been screened, the time do it is as soon as possible."

For more information about heart attack, stroke and cardiac arrest warning signs, visit www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053.

Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.