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REDUCING YOUR RISK OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: ELEVATED CHOLESTEROL – THE EFFECT OF LOWERING YOUR CHOLESTEROL & DISCOURAGING AND ENCOURAGING FACTS ABOUT CHOLESTEROL

The effect of lowering your cholesterolYou go to the doctor for a checkup. A blood test reveals a total cholesterol level of 260 mg/dl. You carefully and consistently adjust your diet and exercise. When your cholesterol is rechecked in 6 months, it is 208 mg/dl. Because that is a decrease of 20 percent, your predicted risk for the development of coronary disease has decreased by 40 percent if you maintain the improved level.Discouraging and encouraging facts about cholesterolApproximately 55 percent of American adults have a total cholesterol level of more than 200 mg/dl.If your total cholesterol is 300 mg/dl, the risk for development of coronary disease is double what it would be if your total cholesterol were 150 mg/dl.The risk of dying from coronary disease if your total cholesterol is 300 mg/dl is four times what it would be if your total cholesterol were 180 mg/dl. Dietary measures alone can usually reduce the average LDL cholesterol by about 15 percent or more. Dietary measures are less likely to be effective if the triglyceride level is normal, though.A 10 percent reduction in cholesterol level results in a 20 percent reduction in future coronary risk. A 1 mg/dl increase in HDL cholesterol reduces your risk of coronary disease by 2 to 3 percent. Aggressive life-style modification, including cholesterol reduction, can cause at least a little reversal of coronary artery blockage in about one of three people.*244\252\8*