More than a third of American adults are eligible to take cholesterol-lowering medications under the current guidelines or were already taking them – but nearly half of them are not, according to a report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers published in the current issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Blacks and Mexican Americans are less likely than whites to be taking cholesterol-lowering medications.

Data from 2007 through 2014 show a decline in the number of Americans with high blood levels of cholesterol. There also has been a recent increase in the use of cholesterol-lowering medications. But a high blood level of LDL cholesterol – also known as “bad” cholesterol - remains a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke in the United States.

Lifestyle changes also needed

Some people with high LDL cholesterol and who have or are at risk of heart disease are eligible for cholesterol-lowering medications. They should also make lifestyle changes such as getting regular exercise, eating a heart-healthy diet, and losing weight. Yet fewer than half of people eligible for or who were taking cholesterol-lowering medication make these changes, the study found.

“Nearly 800,000 people die in the U.S. each year from cardiovascular diseases – that’s one in every three deaths – and high cholesterol continues to be a major risk factor,” said Dr. Carla Mercado, a scientist in CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention. “This study reveals opportunities to reduce existing disparities through targeted patient education and cholesterol management programs.”

One million heart attacks and strokes

Getting 65 percent of Americans to manage their high levels of LDL cholesterol by 2017 is one of the major targets of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts initiative to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes.

78.1 million Americans were already taking or are eligible for cholesterol-lowering medication

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommend cholesterol-lowering medication for four groups of adults:

• People with heart disease, a prior heart attack or some types of stroke, or angina.
• People with LDL cholesterol levels of 190 mg/dL or more.
• People ages 40 to 75 with diabetes and LDL cholesterol levels of 70-189 mg/dL.
• People ages 40-75 with LDL cholesterol levels of 70-189 mg/dL and an estimated 10-year risk of heart disease of 7.5 percent or more.

CDC researchers examined data from the 2005-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Overall, 36.7 percent of U.S. adults -- 78.1 million people age 21 or older -- were eligible for cholesterol-lowering medication or already taking it. Within this group, 55.5 percent were currently taking cholesterol-lowering medication and 46.6 percent reported making lifestyle changes; 37.1 percent reported making lifestyle modifications andtaking medication, and 35.5 percent reported doing neither.

Gender, race, and ethnicity made a difference. Of:

• 40.8 percent of men eligible for or already on medication, 52.9 percent were taking medications.
• 32.9 percent of women eligible for or already on medication, 58.6 percent were taking medications.
• 24.2 percent of Mexican-Americans eligible for or already on medication, 47.1 percent were taking medications.
• 39.5 percent of blacks eligible for or already on medication, 46 percent were taking medications.

38.4 percent of whites eligible for or already on medication, 58 percent were taking medications.

Blacks who did not have a routine place for health care had the lowest rate (5.7 percent) of taking recommended cholesterol-lowering medication. People who said they already had adopted a heart-healthy lifestyle (about 80 percent) were the group most likely to be taking cholesterol-lowering medication.

While the study included people taking all forms of cholesterol-lowering medication, nearly 90 percent of those receiving medication were taking a statin drug.