Conclusion
High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease, and heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Public health agencies have attempted to reduce the prevalence of hyperlipidemia through screening and by increasing public awareness of high cholesterol and strategies for reducing it. The Third Report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (ATP III) constitutes the National Cholesterol Education Program’s evidenced-based updated clinical guidelines for cholesterol testing and management. Since the publication of ATP III in 2001, several major clinical trials of statin therapy have been published that addressed issues that may result in future reassessment of the ATP III treatment recommendations for selected patients. Physicians are in a unique position to counsel, prevent, and medically manage patients, families, and communities regarding high cholesterol. They must face the challenge of caring for multicultural patients that speak various languages, have wide ranging socioeconomic status, different levels of acculturation, and unique ways of understanding illness and health care.
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