• Online Scheduling | Careers
Merit Health Rankin
  • Quick Links
    • Find a Doctor
    • Services
      • Services

        • View All Services
        • Behavioral Health
        • Critical Care Medicine
        • Diabetes Care
        • Diagnostic Imaging
        • Digestive Health
        • Ear, Nose & Throat Care
        • Emergency Services
        • Geriatric Services
        • Heart Care
        • Infectious Disease Care
        • Infusion Services
        • Kidney Disorders
        • Laboratory Services
        • Orthopedic Services
        • Pain Management
        • Pharmacy
        • Primary Care
        • Rehabilitation Services
        • Respiratory Care
        • Sleep Medicine
        • Surgical Services
        • Urology
        • Women's Health
        • Wound Care
          • Patients & Visitors
            • For Patients

              • Patients & Visitors
              • Financial Information
              • Health Library
              • Online Pre-Registration
              • Online Scheduling
              • Patient Portal
              • Physician Referral
              • Request Medical Records
              • Visitor Information
              • Your Stay
                • Events
                • Locations
                  • Hospitals
                  • Merit Health Medical Group
                  • Merit Health Network
                • About
                  • About

                    • About Us
                    • Careers
                    • CEO's Message
                    • Commitment to Our Community
                    • Contact Us
                    • History
                    • Leadership
                    • Newsroom
                    • Our Community
                    • Phone Directory
                    • Quality & Safety
                    • Senior Circle
                    • Volunteer Opportunities
                      • mymerithealth.com
                      • Merit Health Network
                        • Merit Health Biloxi
                        • Merit Health Central
                        • Merit Health Madison
                        • Merit Health Natchez
                        • Merit Health Rankin
                        • Merit Health River Oaks
                        • Merit Health River Region
                        • Merit Health Wesley
                        • Merit Health Woman's Hospital
                      • (601) 825-2811
                      • Online Scheduling
                      • Bill Pay
                      • Pre-Registration
                      • Careers
                      • Contact
                      • analog clock icon
                      • Avg ER Wait:
                        0Min

                        About ER Wait Times
                      Home/About Us/Newsroom/New Cholesterol Management Guidelines: A more personalized approach to risk assessment and treatment.

                      Refine Results

                      About Us
                      Careers
                      Hospital Opportunities
                      Physician Opportunities
                      Why Choose Us?
                      CEO's Message
                      Commitment to Our Community
                      Contact Us
                      History
                      Leadership
                      Newsroom
                      E-Newsletter Sign Up
                      Video Library
                      2018 Articles
                      2017 Articles
                      2016 Articles
                      2015 Articles
                      Our Community
                      Phone Directory
                      Quality & Safety
                      Diversity Policy
                      Joint Commission Notice
                      Notice of Privacy Practices
                      Organized Health Care Arrangement Status
                      Patient Rights & Responsibilities
                      Privacy Policy
                      Quality & Safety Initiatives
                      Terms & Conditions
                      Senior Circle
                      Volunteer Opportunities
                      CHS 2014
                      Events
                      Find a Doctor
                      Locations
                      Notice of Non-Discrimination
                      Orthopedic Center
                      Patients & Visitors
                      Services
                      • information
                      • events
                      • news
                      • clock icon

                        Avg ER Wait:
                        0Min

                        About ER Wait Times
                      • newsletter icon

                        E-Newsletter

                        Sign Up
                      • New Cholesterol Management Guidelines: A more personalized approach to risk assessment and treatment.

                        05.16.2019

                      • The Mississippi Braves and Merit Health Welcome Fans To “Walk The Park”

                        04.22.2019

                      • See All News & Press Releases
                      • Mobile Device

                        Online Scheduling

                        Free, convenient online check-in services.

                        Learn More
                      • Mother and Baby

                        Patient Portal

                        Access your medical information
                        on demand.

                        Learn More

                      New Cholesterol Management Guidelines: A more personalized approach to risk assessment and treatment.

                      Posted with permission from Well-Being magazine, as featured in their May/June issue

                      Late last year, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology released new cholesterol guidelines that include recommendations for more personalized risk assessments and new cholesterol-lowering drug options for people at the highest risk for cardiovascular disease.

                      According to AHA President Ivor Benjamin, M.D., the updated guidelines reinforce the importance of healthy living, lifestyle modification and prevention. They build on the 2013 cholesterol recommendations to focus on identifying and addressing lifetime risks for cardiovascular disease.

                      About one in three adults in the United States have high levels of LDL cholesterol, which contributes to fatty plaque buildups and narrowing of the arteries. High cholesterol treatment is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, and this guideline strongly establishes the importance of personalized care. By providing a treatment roadmap for clinicians, it gives them the tools to help their patients understand and manage their risks. The updated guidelines put a greater emphasis on lifestyle modification and shared decision-making.

                      The 2013 guideline introduced a major shift in how clinicians treat cholesterol, basing treatment on level of risk for cardiovascular disease rather than solely on cholesterol level. The updated guidelines continue to base treatment on risk, but also recommend non-statin therapy based on cholesterol level in patients at very high risk. The risk calculator introduced in the 2013 guidelines remains a key tool that the new guideline highlights to help health care professionals identify patients' 10-year risk for CVD.

                      Using population-based formulas, the guidelines recommend that physicians examine "risk-enhancing factors" and discuss them with patients to personalize their risk assessment, while also continuing to use traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypertension and high blood sugar to address under- or overestimated risk in some individuals. Risk-enhancing factors include a positive family history; specific racial/ethnic backgrounds; and certain health conditions such as metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease, chronic inflammatory conditions, premature menopause or pre-eclampsia, and high lipid biomarkers.

                      Considering the cumulative effect of high cholesterol during an entire lifespan, the new guidelines noted that identifying and treating it early can help reduce the lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease. And, it offers more specific recommendations for certain age and ethnic groups, as well as for people with diabetes—all important factors that should be considered during any comprehensive and individualized physician-patient discussion on this topic.

                      Well-Being reached out to J. Kevin Bridges, M.D., of Merit Health Medical Group, who specializes in Internal Medicine and also holds special certification as a Lipidologist, about the new cholesterol guidelines.

                      “Mississippi is ranked 1st in heart disease related deaths in the US, based on the latest data from the CDC as of 2017,” notes Dr. Bridges. “I do not know any of my fellow Mississippians who want this metric to be the one we are known to be first in. If we are to fall in the rankings, it is imperative that physicians and patients alike, focus on the new guidelines to better establish the risk for each patient and work together to develop an evidenced based treatment plan to reduce that patient’s individual risk of heart disease related death. The big take away from the guidelines is that every patient, regardless of risk, should focus on improving lifestyle choices whether medication is indicated or not.”

                      To schedule an appointment with Dr. Bridges, please contact: (601) 605-2085.

                      Back

                      Merit Health Rankin

                      • 350 Crossgates Blvd
                      • Brandon, MS 39042
                      • P: (601) 825-2811

                      • Terms & Conditions
                      • Privacy Policy
                      • Notice of Privacy Practices
                      • Patient Rights & Responsibilities

                      © Copyright 2019 . All rights reserved.

                       

                      Services

                      • Behavioral Health
                      • Critical Care Medicine
                      • Diabetes Care
                      • Diagnostic Imaging
                      • Digestive Health
                      • Ear, Nose & Throat Care
                      • Emergency Services
                      • Geriatric Services
                      • Heart Care
                      • Infectious Disease Care
                      • Infusion Services
                      • Kidney Disorders
                      • Laboratory Services
                      • Orthopedic Services
                      • Pain Management
                      • Pharmacy
                      • Primary Care
                      • Rehabilitation Services
                      • Respiratory Care
                      • Sleep Medicine
                      • Surgical Services
                      • Urology
                      • Women's Health
                      • Wound Care

                      Patients & Visitors

                      • Financial Information
                      • Health Library
                      • Online Pre-Registration
                      • Online Scheduling
                      • Patient Portal
                      • Physician Referral
                      • Request Medical Records
                      • Visitor Information
                      • Your Stay

                      About Us

                      • Careers
                      • CEO's Message
                      • Commitment to Our Community
                      • Contact Us
                      • History
                      • Leadership
                      • Newsroom
                      • Our Community
                      • Phone Directory
                      • Quality & Safety
                      • Senior Circle
                      • Volunteer Opportunities

                      Notice of Nondiscrimination
                      • English,
                      • አማርኛ,
                      • العربية,
                      • বাংলা,
                      • ျမန္မာဘာသာ,
                      • tsalagi gawonihisdi,
                      • 繁體中文,
                      • Chahta,
                      • Oroomiffa,
                      • Nederlands,
                      • Français,
                      • Kreyòl Ayisyen,
                      • Deutsch,
                      • ગુજરાતી,
                      • हिंदी,
                      • Hmoob,
                      • Igbo asusu,
                      • Ilokano,
                      • Italiano,
                      • 日本語,
                      • 한국어,
                      • Ɓàsɔ́ɔ̀‑wùɖù‑po‑nyɔ̀,
                      • ພາສາລາວ,
                      • Kajin Ṃajōḷ,
                      • ខ្មែរ,
                      • Diné Bizaad,
                      • नेपाली,
                      • Deitsch,
                      • فارسی,
                      • Polski,
                      • Português,
                      • ਪੰਜਾਬੀ,
                      • Română,
                      • Русский,
                      • Gagana fa'a Sāmoa,
                      • Srpsko‑hrvatski,
                      • Español,
                      • ܣܘܼܪܸܬ݂,
                      • Tagalog,
                      • ภาษาไทย,
                      • Türkçe,
                      • Українська,
                      • اُردُو,
                      • Tiếng Việt,
                      • èdè Yorùbá
                      Loading... Loading...