Cholesterol targets lowered for heart attack survivors

7 August 2012

Heart attack survivors will be advised to aim for even lower cholesterol targets under new national guidelines.

The Heart Foundation and Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand have updated their 2007 guidelines, now recommending the LDL-cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) target for people with heart disease should be less than 1.8mmol/L. This is lower than the previous recommendation which was less than 2.0mmol/L.

“The evidence is saying we need to go lower,” said Dr Robert Grenfell, clinical issues director at the Heart Foundation.

The new targets bring Australia into parity with European and US guidelines, he said.

The guidelines also include a greater emphasis on recognition and management of depression among patients who have had a heart attack.


 

Last Reviewed: 07 August 2012

Adapted with permission from Medical Observer Weekly.
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