Hypercholesterolemia. Causes, significance, and diagnosis

At least half of all persons in the United States have a serum cholesterol level that places them at high risk for atherosclerosis and its life-threatening complications, particularly coronary heart disease. In the last few years, concern about cholesterol has become a national preoccupation. Concerned consumers increasingly direct their questions about cholesterol to the nurses with whom they come in contact. Nurses who know about cholesterol are in an ideal position to teach current, accurate, potentially life-saving information about it. This article describes the causes, significance, and diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia and outlines the recommendations of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) panel of experts.