A major national campaign is being mounted to alert both the medical profession and the public to the hazards that most investigators associate with elevated cholesterol levels.
As a result, more people may be seeing physicians to have their cholesterol levels checked and to seek counseling about avoiding problems associated with high cholesterol levels. A number of organizations already are considering or even undertaking professional educational programs that might help to prepare physicians to respond to these heightened public concerns about cholesterol.
Most physicians are aware that, currently, those persons older than 40 years of age with serum cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dL or above are at an increased risk of coronary heart disease, while those with levels 260 mg/dL or above are at especially high risk. As in hypertension, the "borderline risk" area still is in debate.
One view, that cholesterol levels should be no more than 200 mg/dL,