Lowering cholesterol levels should be done much earlier in life to lower the risk of developing a heart condition or stroke, a study has revealed.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge said that high cholesterol at a young age could increase the risk of atherosclerosis, a condition that causes the arteries to narrow due to a build-up of fatty deposits.
According to the NHS, people over the age of 65 are more likely to develop the condition.
But researchers found that the risk of atherosclerosis can begin much earlier, with exposure to high or fluctuating cholesterol early in life potentially increasing this risk.
For the study, the team at Cambridge fed two groups of mice a cholesterol-rich diet, either intermittently or continuously.
They found that mice who ate an intermittent high fat diet while they were still young had the highest risk of developing atherosclerosis.
Researchers said that a fluctuation in cholesterol levels was more dangerous as it could impact immune cells known as resident arterial macrophages, which alter in the early stages of atherosclerosis.
Separately, the team analysed data from a study of more than 2,000 people recruited during the 1980s had ultrasounds of their carotid arteries.
The participants had scans aged around 30 and again at around 50.
They found that those who were exposed to higher cholesterol as children were more likely to have a build-up of plaque in the arteries.
Ziad Mallat, a British Heart Foundation (BHF) professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Cambridge, said: “What this means is that we shouldn’t leave it until later in life before we start to look at our cholesterol levels.
“Atherosclerosis can potentially be prevented by lowering cholesterol levels, but we clearly need to start thinking about this much earlier on in life than we previously thought.”
Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the BHF, said: “Someone is admitted to hospital with a heart attack or stroke every three minutes in the UK. In most cases this is caused by atherosclerosis, the build-up of fatty material inside the arteries.
“This exciting new study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, provides new insights into the biological processes behind the development of blood vessel disease.
“Importantly, the study suggests that surges in cholesterol, not just consistently high levels, can cause changes in the blood vessels, priming them for the development of atherosclerosis.
“With this process starting early in life, these findings reinforce the importance of keeping cholesterol levels under control from an early age to better prevent heart disease and strokes later in life.”
