Studies have shown that high cholesterol is one of the leading causes of heart disease.  The higher your blood cholesterol level, the greater your risk for developing heart disease or having a heart attack and heart disease is the number one killer of women and men in the United States.  It is estimated that every year, more than a million Americans have heart attacks, and about a half million people die from heart disease.

There are two types of cholesterol:  HDL (“good”) cholesterol and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol

Low density lipoproteins

The bad cholesterol is produced in low density lipoproteins is transported from the liver to other parts of the body for use.  The problem arises when there is too much LDL within the body and it is not being used quickly enough, starting to build up both in arteries and in the bloodstream. 

The higher your LDL level and the more risk factors you have (other than LDL), the greater your chances of developing heart disease or having a heart attack.  People may be at risk of a heart attack because they have heart disease.  Others may be at high risk for heart disease because they have diabetes or a combination of risk factors for heart disease. (Are you seeing a pattern developing here?)

To determine whether or not you may be at risk for developing heart disease, the steps outlined below should be followed:

Step 1: Ascertain exactly how many of the listed risk factors you have.  These are the risk factors that affect your LDL goal.  Do you:

• Smoke cigarettes?
• Have high blood pressure (140/90 mmHg or higher or on blood pressure medication)
• Have low HDL cholesterol (less than 40 mg/dL)?  Note:  If your HDL cholesterol is 60 mg/dl or higher, subject one from the total count.
• Do you have a family history of early heart disease?  (Heart disease in father or brother before age 55; heart disease in mother or sister before age 65).
• Does your age make you at risk?  For men, age 45 or older; for women age 55 or older.

Although obesity and physical inactivity are not counted in this list, they are conditions that need to be corrected.

Step 2: How many major risk factors do you have? If you have two or more risk factors listed above, refer to the chart below to calculate your risk score.  Risk score refers to the chance of having a heart attack in the next 10 years, given as a percentage. What is your risk score in percent?  ________%.

Estimate of 10-Year Risk for Men

Point Scores by Age Group

Point Scores by Age Group and Total Cholesterol

Point Scores by Age and Smoking Status

Point Scores by HDL Level

Point Scores by Systolic Blood Pressure and Treatment Status

10-Year Risk by Total Point Scores

Estimate of 10-Year Risk for Women

Point Scores by Age Group

Point Scores by Age Group and Total Cholesterol

Point Scores by Age and Smoking Status

Point Scores by HDL Level

Point Scores by Systolic Blood Pressure and Treatment Status

10-Year Risk by Total Point Scores

Step 3: Use your medical history, number of risk factors, and risk score to find your risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack in the table below.

* Means that more than 20 of 100 people in this category will have a heart attack within 10 years.

My risk category is ______________________.

Now that your risk category has been determined, a future article will give you a step-by-step plan to turn your life around and decrease your chances of getting heart disease.