Cholesterol tests: how accurate are they?

Nutrition Action Healthletter, May, 1988 by Anne Montgomery

4. Diet Before Drugs. According to NIH, if your cholesterol is high and you switch from a typical American diet of about 40 percent calories from fat to the AHA diet, then your cholesterol level could drop 30 to 40 points within three months. [6] But to really reduce your risk of heart disease, you'll have to keep your cholesterol low permanently.

The treatment of first choice for high blood cholesterol is diet. If the AHA diet doesn't lower your cholesterol enough, cut your saturated fat to six percent or three percent. Your total fat will probably drop below 30 percent, but focus on minimizing saturated fat. Eat more fish, fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains.

Only if diet doesn't work should the alternative--cholesterol-lowering drugs--be tried. That's because all drugs have side effects and risks (see January/February, 1988). Moreover, because the drugs must be taken every day, they are expensive.

Every minute, another American dies of a heart attack. Cholesterol tests are not perfect, but they do provide some important clues as to whether you are at risk. If you are, do something about it--now.

(*1) Sandra Miller is a fictitious name.

(*2) All cholesterol values represent milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood.

References

[1] Personal communication from Kerri Keaton, Boston Biomedical Consultants, Inc., Waltham, MA.

[2] Proceedings from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry conference, January 18-20, 1988.

[3] Clin. Chem. 34: 193, 1988.

[4] Report from General Accounting Office, H8-0111, February 29, 1988.

[5] J. Am. Med. Assoc. 258: 357, 361, 1987.

[6] Arch. Intern. Med. 148: 36, 1988.