Health Publications

What's your cholesterol IQ?

FDA Consumer, Nov-Dec, 2004 by John Henkel

Many of us may remember the dreaded "pop quiz" from school and how it sometimes created that sinking feeling of being unprepared. Well, the National Institutes of Health has its own pop quiz it would like you to take. You may not be prepared for it either, but the quiz answers could help save your life.

The quiz asks 11 true-false questions and then allows you to gauge your performance--your cholesterol IQ--as you read detailed answers to each of the questions. Even if you miss some of the quiz questions, you'll be ahead of the game if you read and heed the correct answers, which cover subjects such as heart disease in women, fish oil supplements, and food labels. Take the quiz at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/chol_iq.htm.> Also regarding cholesterol, the NIH has created an online calculator that tells you--based on cholesterol numbers, blood pressure, age, and other factors--your probability of having a heart attack over 10 years. The calculator is designed for adults older than 20 who do not have heart disease or diabetes. It can be found at http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/atpiii/calculator.asp.> John Henkel is a member of the FDA's Website Management Staff