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Isn't age 45 too late to start lipid screening?

Would you like to... Print this page Email this page Post a comment Subscribe me Add to favorites Remove Highlighting Edit this Question If you wait until age 45 to check lipid profiles, do you miss an opportunity to encourage lifestyle changes in our younger population? You are right! Physicians and nurse practitioners should be looking actively for opportunities to encourage healthy lifestyle patterns. Among the groups of people one might be most interested in screening for lipids at an age less than 45 would be women who: · Have a family history of lipid disorders · Have a family history of premature coronary heart disease · Have history of coronary heart disease · Are extremely overweight, are hypertensive, or are diabetic The lifestyle changes to emphasize are regular exercise, maintenance of thin body habitus, and complete avoidance of smoking. A woman who smokes 1-4 cigarettes a day is 2.5 times as likely to die of fatal heart disease as a woman who does not smoke at all. PEER-REVIEW PROCESS: Joel Felner, MD, Associate Dean for Clinical Education at Emory University School of Medicine, agreed with the above four groups of women as being possible candidates for screening before age 45. But he added, "However, it is never too late to start lipid screening."

Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, GA ---2003-09-5

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