Treating High Cholesterol in the Elderly

The next 30 years will see the graying of America as the Te boomers move into their senior years. The number of people 65 and older will double, growing — to 70 million, And, since coronary heart disease (CHD) accounts for 70 to 80 percent of deaths in this age group, reducing CHD risk factors will become an even more critical agenda. Unfortunately, clinical trials find that many ole patients with confirmed CHD don’t receive therapies shown to help. And tw ~ studies conducted in the mid 1990s found that many older patients who were: candidates for cholesterol-lowering drugs weren’t prescribed them.This despite the fact that four major studies suggest treatment with cholesterollowering drugs can have a significant effect in reducing death and heart disease incidence in people 65 and older.