US Cardiologists Have Just Published New Guidelines For Managing Cholesterol
Key summary
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association issued new guidelines for managing high cholesterol, replacing the 2018 guidance.
They recommend detecting high cholesterol at earlier ages and call for earlier screening for people with a family history.
The guidance emphasizes lifestyle changes to lower cholesterol and introduces improved methods to calculate future heart attack and stroke risk.
Recommendations promote more personalized risk estimates, starting medication earlier in some cases, and use of PREVENT scores — PREVENT is recommended for people with high blood pressure as of August 2025.
Background: cholesterol is a fatty, waxy substance; LDL is 'bad' and can block arteries, while HDL is 'good' and removes excess LDL; Johns Hopkins cardiologist Seth Martin commented on prevention strategies.