Do we really need ultra-low LDL?

Among others, the U.S. federal government's National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), currently advise people at high risk of cardiovascular disease to lower their LDL levels to the ultra-low level of 70 milligrams/deciliter.

However, researchers from the University of Michigan Health System recently completed a study that suggests there is very little evidence that ultra-low LDL levels are really necessary.


The study found that high doses of certain cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins produce the same benefit in a person who has an LDL level of 100 mg/dL as it does in a person with an LDL level of 200 mg/dL, provided the two have comparable heart attack risk. The researchers found that there is no clinical evidence to suggest that ultra-low levels of LDL cholesterol offer any added bonus.
The researchers believe it is far more effective to focus on using statins, diet modification and exercise to lower cholesterol.

Exercise could have less tendency of creating plaque that blocks arteries

An exercise biology researcher at University College London reported that people who are physically fit may be protected from damaging artery inflammation that flares up during times of mental stress, a pioneering study reports today.

Aerobic fitness was found to affect the release of chemicals linked to damaging inflammation in adults who are stressed namely interleukin-6, or IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or TNF.

Increases of these chemicals raise the risk for heart disease. Inflammation is thought to be involved in creating plaque that blocks arteries.
Stressed but fit middle-aged adults produce far less of the two chemicals and have less inflammation than couch potatoes.

The least fit had five times the increase in TNF as the most fit. The fittest adults also had one-third of the increase in IL-6 found in the blood of unfit adults.
It's already known that exercise can lower cholesterol and weight and reduce the risk of diseases such as diabetes. So the new findings are just one more reason to get more exercise.