title: A 39-year-old woman with hypercholesterolemia.
abstract: Ms T, a 39-year-old woman, has a total cholesterol level of 277 mg/dL (7.17 mmol/L) and well-controlled hypertension; her brother had a stroke in his 30s. She is primarily concerned with her mother's history of breast cancer, but she would like to know if she can take a dietary supplement or if she needs to take cholesterol-lowering medication, and if so, whether she will need to continue it as well as adhere to her diet for the rest of her life. Her estimated 10-year risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) is 1% to 2% using the Framingham Risk Score, but that may underestimate her true risk as an African American woman with a family history of CHD. Recommendations for her, her longer-term risk for CHD, and evidence for lipid-lowering therapies are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass, USA. mmittlem@bidmc.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Murray A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mittleman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents