High cholesterol and high blood pressure early in life influences your heart even after you lower your levels

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-12-21 06:00

Australia; International; NSW

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Having high cholesterol or high blood pressure before the age of 55 increases your risk of heart disease in later life - even if you're eventually able to lower your levels - according to Australian and international research. The team used a technique called ‘Mendelian Randomisation’ - which uses genetics to allow scientists to determine whether one thing causes another, rather than them just being linked - to analyse the lifetime cholesterol levels in about 135,000 people, blood pressure in a further 135,000 people and their subsequent risk of heart disease. The researchers say the link between high blood pressure or high cholesterol in early-middle life and heart disease is independent of later life levels of both, which means we should be watching our cholesterol and blood pressure our whole lives to prevent accumulating risk.