Saturday, Nov 29, 2008
Gulf News
Dubai: Normal cholesterol levels is now a cardiovascular risk when other risk factors are present, a study recently found, prompting doctors to recommend new lows for cholesterol.
The Gupiter study, commissioned by pharmaceutical company Astra-Zeneca, found patients with normal cholesterol levels were still getting heart attacks and strokes, requiring them to lower their levels even more. According to the American Heart Association, normal cholesterol level is below 200 milligrammes per decilitre of blood (mg/dl), borderline high is between 200mg/dl to 240 mg/dl and high is above 240 mg/dl.
Dr Afzal Hussain Yousuf Ali, consultant cardiologist in-charge at Dubai Hospital, told Gulf News that normal cholesterol was no longer safe, requiring more aggressive action.
"Half of the people [on the UAE heart registry] who are getting heart attacks have normal cholesterol. Normal is no longer normal. We need to reduce the levels even further to 60 - 70 mg/dl," he said.
"The average of age of our patients in the registry is around 50, while in Europe it is 65," he added.
He said doctors, especially primary care physicians, should consider putting patients with normal cholesterol levels or increasing their dosage of anti-cholesterol drugs, or statins. These patients should also have additional cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure and family history, but lifestyle changes should also be stressed.
About 1,800 UAE residents are on the UAE heart registry, kept by the Emirates Cardiac Society. Those on the registry have had heart problems in some way or another, including heart attacks, blocked arteries and/or unstable angina. The youngest age is 24 while the oldest is 75.
Sensitivity
The Gupiter study also found high sensitivity to C-reactive protein (CRP), released when there is systemic inflammation, is an indicator of heart disease.
Dr Abdullah Shehab, president of continuing medical education at Emirates Cardiac Society, told Gulf News the society was planning on doing a prevalence rate study on CRP sensitivity in the UAE.
"We'll have a better idea of the risk factors. The problem in our part of the world is that we only look at the end patient. We don't know what happens when they leave the hospital," he said.
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
