The interest in people's cholesterol levels has grown remarkably over the past few years, and although in the UK it is perhaps not quite as prominant a topic of conversation amongst the general public as it is in America, nevertheless it is a major discussion point both within the public generally and in the health pages of the national press. Much of the debate has been fuelled by the development of drugs that are very effective in reducing cholesterol levels - namely statins.
Today one can hardly open a newspaper without seeing another article either praising statins as the greatest medication ever developed or warning of the perils associated with taking them!
Two of the questions that I am most often asked are:-
It is perhaps easier to answer the second question first, so...........
This depends on two things: your Medical History and your current risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the next ten years.