Published 21 August 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a993
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a993

Clinical Review

Hypercholesterolaemia and its management

¹ University of Manchester Cardiovascular Research Group, Core Technology Facility, Manchester M13 9NT, ² Diabetes Centre, Royal Oldham Hospital, Oldham OL1 2JH

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Hypercholesterolaemia is one of the major causes of atherosclerosis. Although there are many causes, hypercholesterolaemia is the permissive factor that allows other risk factors to operate.¹ The incidence of coronary heart disease is usually low where population plasma cholesterol concentrations are low.² In Britain coronary heart disease is a major cause of mortality, and a recent Department of Health survey suggested that the average plasma cholesterol concentration in the United Kingdom was 5.9 mmol/l, much higher than the 4 mmol/l seen in rural China and Japan, where heart disease is uncommon.³ Many studies before and after the introduction of statins have indicated that reducing the prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia is an important means of decreasing coronary risk.

Cholesterol plays an important role as the precursor for steroid hormones and bile acids and it is essential for the structural integrity of cell membranes. It is transported in the body in lipoproteins. Figure . . . [Full text of this article]

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