Join us for a special webcast: "Rethinking cholesterol"

If the latest information on the health and well-being is important to you, you will not want to miss a special live streaming, "Rethinking cholesterol," which will air on Thursday, September 24, 24: 30-13: 30 hours from the east. The webcast, which is free for all spectators, is co-sponsored by Reuters, Harvard Health Publications, TH Chan Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School.

Recent science has brought new knowledge about the importance of controlling cholesterol for maintaining cardiovascular health. LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol is a powerful risk factor for heart and blood vessels. New research suggests that when it comes to protecting your heart, reduce LDL cholesterol better.

How can you reduce cholesterol 
There is a lot you can do with your diet to lower LDL cholesterol. Primarily, it is essential to reduce the consumption of saturated fats and trans fats. These two forms of LDL levels increase in fat. Saturated fats are found in butter, cheese, other dairy products and red meat. Trans fat is found in partially hydrogenated oils. By law, trans fats are supposed to be removed from all commercially prepared foods over the next three years. But until then, you should read food labels carefully to avoid trans fats.

It is best to replace saturated and trans fats with polyunsaturated fats (soybean, corn and sunflower) and monounsaturated fats (olive oil), which lower LDL levels. But you might be surprised to learn that reducing the amount of cholesterol-rich foods is of little help.  

Most blood cholesterol is produced by the body and without food. Get plenty of fiber can also help cholesterol levels. Regular exercise is also important because it helps control body weight and may increase levels of HDL (high density lipoprotein), which contributes to the scanning fat from the bloodstream.

When you need a little more help than lifestyle changes alone
If diet and exercise do not bring your cholesterol at a healthy level, there are medications that can help. Statins have been the mainstay of drug therapy to reduce LDL cholesterol. Statins are sometimes administered in combination with ezetimibe, a drug that lowers cholesterol absorption in the intestine.

Powerful new drugs, called PCSK9 inhibitors, have recently become available. These drugs are antibodies that promote the removal of LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream to the liver where it can be treated. PCSK9 inhibitors can significantly reduce LDL cholesterol to levels not seen before with other medicines.  

But they must be administered by injection under the skin, and today are very expensive. Only time will tell whether these low LDL levels result in a reduced risk of heart and blood vessels, and if there may be unexpected side effects driving LDL cholesterol levels low.

More information about cholesterol and heart health expert at Harvard University
If you want to understand more about cholesterol and cardiovascular disease - tune this webcast Thursday, September 24, 24: 30-13: 30 ET - and the latest scientific advances and guidelines to protect your heart based on evidence.

These issues will be addressed by four Harvard experts:
    *  Patrick O'Gara, director of clinical cardiology and Executive Medical Director, Cardiovascular Center at Brigham and Women Shapiro's Hospital; Professor at Harvard Medical School.

    *  JoAnn Manson, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School; Head of the Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Professor at the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of TH Chan of public health.

    *  Paul Ridker, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine; Professor at the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of TH Chan of public health.

    *  Frank Sacks, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Department of Nutrition at Harvard University TH Chan school of public health.

Bill Berkrot Reuters moderate the conversation. You may also be interested in our recent post on fats in the diet and heart health by JoAnn Dr. Manson and his colleague Dr. Shari Bassuk.

You can see the direct www.health.harvard.edu. We hope you will join us, but if you miss the live event, the webcast will also be recorded for later viewing. 
By: Gregory Curfman, MD,