一位父亲37岁去世，揭开了他隐藏的胆固醇史

卡尔·科尔夫马赫9岁时，他的父亲, 罗恩, 20世纪70年代初，他从梅奥诊所回来做检查.

Though he was lean and seemed fit, his father had been experiencing chest pains and coughing. 他的胆固醇很高. 另外，他烟瘾很大. 那天他到家的时候, 7月4日, 他的37岁生日, 罗恩 Korfmacher向家人保证一切都会好起来的.

第二天, 在他迟到的生日庆典上, 在鞭炮声中, 他在野餐桌旁摔倒了. 他挣扎着呼吸. 然后，他死于心脏病发作.

小卡尔如此崇拜的那个人走了. 几天后，在卡尔十岁生日那天，他被下葬了.

“他是一个非常出色、独特的人，”卡尔回忆说. "They couldn't believe that a man that young could have heart disease."

A few months later, 卡尔's mother, 刘易斯, had her children's cholesterol checked. 这是一个明智的决定. He and his brothers had elevated cholesterol levels, like their father.

胆固醇 is a waxy substance in the blood that can build up in arteries and lead to atherosclerosis, 或者动脉狭窄, 哪一种最终会导致心脏病发作或中风. Other factors, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking, compound the risk.

当时降胆固醇的药物并不容易获得, so 刘易斯 made sure the family adhered to a healthy diet aimed at combating high cholesterol.

“她非常坚定，非常小心，”卡尔说. 他们很少吃红肉, used egg substitutes and drank dehydrated skim milk because that's what was available. “我们讨厌这样。!"

But he would come to cherish his mother's insistence on safeguarding their health.

大约20年前，卡尔开始服用他汀类药物，一种 降胆固醇药物 这有助于降低心脏病发作和中风的风险. 当时, his overall cholesterol was around 270 to 280 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) and his ratios of HDL, 或者“好”胆固醇, 和低密度脂蛋白, 或者“坏胆固醇”,“我们不在理想范围内.

A variety of studies have suggested the optimal level of LDL in adults is less than 100 mg/dL. 最近的研究发现，低密度脂蛋白为160或更高的人, 即使没有心脏病或糖尿病病史, had a 70% to 90% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who had LDL below 100.

新的胆固醇指南 发表在去年11月的杂志上 循环 advised health care providers to look at family history and other health conditions in assessing a patient's heart disease risk.

"Family history of high cholesterol suggests there may be a genetic cholesterol disorder," said Dr. 萨拉·德·费兰蒂, chief of outpatient cardiology and director of preventive cardiology at Boston Children's Hospital. 胆固醇 screening can identify the one in 250 people who have a genetic cholesterol disorder, 她说.

If there's a family history of early heart disease or high cholesterol, 儿童早在2岁时就可以接受筛查, 每三到五年重复检查一次, 德费兰蒂说, a member of the committee that wrote the cholesterol guidelines issued by the American College of Cardiology and 美国心脏协会. 如果孩子有其他心血管风险因素, 比如高血压, 肥胖或糖尿病, 这可能会促使你进行胆固醇检查, 她说.

For otherwise healthy children without a concerning family history, it may be reasonable to do routine screening between ages 9 and 11 and again between 17 and 21.

在他母亲的催促下, 卡尔's two sons underwent cholesterol screening during routine physicals when they were younger. 他们的胆固醇水平也升高了.

医生诊断出卡尔和他的儿子患有 家族性高胆固醇血症, an inherited condition of high cholesterol associated with a significant increased risk of early heart attack.

今天, 卡尔, 55, 和他的儿子亨利, 18, 和Owin, 14, 通过他汀类药物控制胆固醇, 健康的饮食和锻炼. His wife, Krista, stays active, too, encouraging physical activity as a family way of life.

“我认为我们是孩子们的好榜样,卡尔说。, 他和家人住在埃文斯维尔, 威斯康辛州. "As parents, we try to instill it as a culture: We are not obese people. 我们一起工作. 我们是锻炼者. 这就是我们."

卡尔 and Krista encourage their sons to think about how to make good health decisions on their own. 卡尔说，他们给其他人的信息是:“保持领先地位. 没有消息不是好消息——去检查和测试吧. 学习健康的生活方式，并按照它生活. It won't only benefit your heart, but the rest of your life in so many ways."