ScienceDaily: How Low Should We Go? Researchers Find No Clear Evidence For Ultra-low Cholesterol Targets: "How Low Should We Go? Researchers Find No Clear Evidence For Ultra-low Cholesterol Targets

Americans have been trying to get their cholesterol levels down for decades, ever since studies showed a strong link between high cholesterol and heart disease. But in recent years, experts have suggested that some people should aim even lower, recently recommending very low levels of the type of cholesterol called low-density lipoprotein for some high-risk people -- even if it means they had to take multiple medications to get there.

Not so fast, says a team of researchers from the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and the University of Michigan Health System in a new paper in the October Annals of Internal Medicine.

After performing an exhaustive review of existing research on LDL cholesterol and heart health, they conclude that there is no scientifically valid evidence to support the ultra-low LDL target of 70 milligrams/deciliter for very high-risk patients that has been advocated by some members of the federal government's National Cholesterol Education Program. Further, they suggest that the evidence previously cited to support an LDL goal of less than 100mg/dL for high risk patients also has major flaws."