Nearly half of eligible U.S. adults don’t take cholesterol drugs

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Roughly one third of U.S. adults should be on cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to current guidelines, but almost half of these people aren’t taking the medications, a recent study finds. More than 78 million people aged 21 and older have high enough levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) – the bad kind of cholesterol that builds up in blood vessels and can lead to blood clots and heart attacks – to be eligible for LDL-lowering drugs known as statins, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “Making lifestyle modifications such as exercising and adopting a healthy diet and taking the appropriate medication can be extremely effective in lowering your cholesterol and ultimately reducing your risk of a heart attack or stroke,” lead report author Carla Mercado of CDC said by email.