The National Cholesterol Education Program has established guidelines explaining science-based recommendations on lowering cholesterol to decrease heart disease risk. NCEP has published an entire report describing how lowering low-density lipoproteins, or LDL cholesterol, is the primary means of lowering heart disease risk, more than any other measurable parameter, explains Today's Dietitian. The research is not lacking for proof that lowering cholesterol lowers risk for a heart attack.
Dietary Intervention Studies
The entire National Institutes of Health "Final Report on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults" was written based on a wealth of research supporting the effects of lowering cholesterol on heart attack risk. The NIH looked at several dietary intervention trials. Dietary intervention studies are studies that utilize diet education to promote a change in diet habits, such as choosing foods with smaller amounts of saturated fat, as in the example of switching from whole milk to skim milk. The report assessed six dietary intervention trials that treated 1,200 participants and resulted in lowering cholesterol an average of 11 percent, which represents a 24 percent reduction in heart disease risk as well as a 21 percent lower risk of death.
Statin Therapy Lowers Cholesterol
Statins are lipid-lowering drugs used for lowering cholesterol. Research on statin therapy has proven through their effectiveness just how cholesterol reduces heart attacks. A study in the October 2005 "Lancet" explains that the use of statins for reducing cholesterol can safely reduce the five-year incidence of a heart attack or stroke by one fifth per mmol/l reduction in LDL cholesterol. This equates to 48 fewer people with heart attacks for every group of 1,000 people. This is the case for all patients at high risk of a heart attack. The study assessed more than 90,000 participants in 14 studies regarding the use of cholesterol in reducing heart attacks.
Mechanism of Statins to Lower Cholesterol
It is well-known that statins reduce cholesterol and the exact mechanism further proves how heart attacks are reduced. A study in the April 2009 "Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology" journal looked closely at this mechanism. The study explains the statin is taken, then travels to the liver and binds to an enzyme known as HMG-CoA reductase. When this binding occurs, cholesterol production is decreased, which causes LDL receptors located at the liver cell membranes to increase. Since there are now more LDL receptors, more LDL is removed from the blood, which lowers blood cholesterol levels.
Ten Percent Reduction in Cholesterol Levels
Another study in the September 2009 journal "Nutrition and Dietetics" also explained how lowering cholesterol is able to decrease heart attacks. After assessing data in an Australian population, the researchers found that a 10 percent reduction in LDL cholesterol levels could prevent 2,279 deaths from heart disease and 641 deaths from stroke. This study included a variety of lipid-lowering therapies in the analysis. Both diet and drug therapies are beneficial at lowering cholesterol, but dietary means is where the initial attempt should begin in an effort to prevent taking medications, explains "Today's Dietitian."
References
- Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) Final Report
- "Lancet"; Efficacy and Safety of Cholesterol-lowering Treatment: Prospective Meta-analysis of Data from 90, 056 Participants in 14 randomised Trials of Statins; Baigent, et al.; October 2008
- "Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology"; The LDL Receptor; Joseph Goldstein, et al.; April 2009
- Today's Dietitian; Quieting a Cholesterol Boom; Maggie Moon, M.S., R.D.
- Today's Dietitian; Phytosterols --- Mother Nature's Cholesterol Fighters; Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.
- "Nutrition and Dietetics"; How Many Australian Deaths from Heart Disease and Stroke Could be Avoided by a Small Reduction in Population Cholesterol Levels?; Huxley, et al.; September 2009
