Expert Voices -

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Cholesterol is A Family Affair

Do you know your blood cholesterol level? Is it high?

Your child's blood cholesterol level can be related to your level. If you have high blood cholesterol or heart disease, there is a greater chance that your child has high blood cholesterol. Children whose blood cholesterol levels are high, in general, tend to have higher levels as adults and be at greater risk for heart disease. That is why controlling blood cholesterol levels is a family affair.

All healthy Americans, 2 years of age or older, should eat in a way that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol. We now know that eating this way lowers blood cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of heart disease.

Heart disease is still the number one killer of both men and women in the United States. More than 6 million Americans have symptoms of heart disease. High blood pressure, smoking and obesity, as well as high blood cholesterol increase your risk of getting heart disease. The good news is that you can change these risk factors and reduce your family's risk of heart disease.

How Does Blood Cholesterol Affect Heart Disease?  Heart Disease Has Its Start Early in Life

Arteriosclerosis may start very early in life, yet not produce symptoms for many years. Over the years, cholesterol and fat build up in the arteries. This narrows the arteries and can slow or block the flow of blood to the heart. This process is known as "arteriosclerosis." Most heart attacks are caused by a clot forming at a narrow part of an artery which cuts off the blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle. Most coronary heart disease is due to blockages in these same arteries.

We know that lowering blood cholesterol in adults slows the fatty buildup in the walls of the arteries and reduces the risk of heart disease and heart attack. Lowering blood cholesterol levels in children is likely also to help reduce their risk of heart disease when they become adults.

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