Important Action Points:
1. Interested women need to know that their stroke risk if higher if they have an elevated cholesterol, even if they do not have a history of heart disease.
2. The American Heart Association and the American Stroke ASsociation both recommend avoiding unfavorable cholesterol levels to prevent ischemic stroke.
The above findings were released recently. The above study controlled for the following:
1. alcohol consumption,
2. exercise,
3. smoking,
4. body mass index,
5. family history of heart attack,
6. current postmenopausal hormone use,
7. history of diabetes, migraine and migraine aura status, and
8. cholesterol lowering medication use
The recommended lipids within the Women's Health Initiative were the following:
1. Total Cholesterol below 200
2. LDL (bad lipids) below 100
3. HDL (good lipids) above 40
Controlling for high blood pressure and high blood pressure medications did make some difference, however, total cholesterol and LDL remained significant findings for future stroke. Interestingly, post menopausal women who were on hormone replacement therapy had a lower chance of stroke, even if cholesterol levels were high.
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