Mild hypercholesterolemia and premature heart disease: Do the national criteria underestimate disease risk?

OBJECTIVES To determine the frequency of hospital admissions for acute coronary syndrome In young adults and to examine the risk factors that predispose to the development of premature heart disease. BACKGROUND Significant coronary heart disease (CHD) is considered rare in the young adult. Current guidelines do not recommend treatment of mild cholesterol abnormalities fur primary prevention of CHD in the young. METHODS This is a large case series of 449 adults (less than or equal to 50 years) admitted to the hospital with acute coronary syndrome. A history of cardiovascular risk factors and lipid profile were recorded. The presence and extent of CHD were established. RESULTS Mean patient age was 44 +/- 6 years. Documented CHD was present in 61% of hospital admissions. Multivariate analysis revealed that history of hypercholesterolemia, history of smoking and diabetes were independently associated with premature CMD, The fasting lipid profiles were only borderline to mildly abnormal. Serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglyceride levels were not different in cases compared with control subjects. Nearly half (49%) of those with LDL levels of greater than or equal to 160 mg/dl had only une additional risk factor or none. Despite this, a history of hypercholesterolemia had independent and incremental value on other risk factors for the likelihood of premature CHD. CONCLUSIONS The magnitude of hospital admissions relating to premature CHD is high. In tills population, the presence Df borderline or mild hypercholesterolemia has significant effects on the development of premature CHD. These observations have significant implications in the development of guidelines for primary prevention of premature CHD. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2000;35:1178-84) (C) 2000 by the American College of Cardiology.