New heart guidelines suggest testing for sneaky type of cholesterol

The American Heart Association urges doctors to begin screening and treating patients who are still in their 30s, before the risks of a heart attack and stroke are higher.

New cholesterol guidelines advise doctors to begin screening and treating people in their 30s, long before the risks of a heart attack and stroke become significantly higher.

For the first time, the American Heart Association, along with the American College of Cardiology and other medical groups also recommend screening for two biomarkers in the blood that have been linked to heart risks.

The updated guidance was jointly published Friday in Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The guidelines — the first revamp since 2018 — focus on controlling dyslipidemia, or abnormal levels of blood lipids such as cholesterol and triglycerides.

One in 4 U.S. adults have high LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol, a form of dyslipidemia and risk factor for heart attack and stroke, according to estimates from the heart association.