High Blood Cholesterol Levels in
Upstate New York

 
I doubt that's it's much better or worse than anywhere else in the country, but recent statistics show that 2 of every 5 adults in Upstate New York have high blood cholesterol.

"So what," you say?

Treatment for poor health related to high blood cholesterol in the area costs about 221 billion dollars a year, that's what.

The new report was issued in mid-September, 2009, by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

As we all know, high blood cholesterol increases your risk of heart attack and stroke.

The Blue Cross study goes on to say that 1.5 million adults in Upstate New York are impacted by high blood cholesterol. Heart disease is the number one  killer of adults in the region. It accounted for 28 percent of all deaths in the area from 2003 to 2005 (the most recent data available).

High blood cholesterol has no known symptoms. The only way to know if you have it is through a screening, and nearly 20 percent of Upstate New York's adults have never been screened. That leaves a lot of people at risk.

Those who may face serious health challenges because of high blood cholesterol are those who

• Eat a diet high in saturated fat
• Don't exercise
• Are obesity
• Smoke
• Have high blood pressure
• Have diabetes
• Have a family history of heart disease

Sixty-one percent of adults in Upstate New York are overweight or obese. Twenty-three percent smoke. Twenty-nine percent have hypertension. Nearly nine percent have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
 

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