University of Cambridge experts found high or fluctuating cholesterol early in life heightened the risk of a condition linked to heart disease called atherosclerosis.
READ MORE: Harvard researchers pinpoint 2 UPFs that surge heart attack riskChildren as young as 15 should take statins to reduce their risk of serious heart disease in the future, top heart experts have suggested.
Professor Ziad Mallat, cardiologist and author of the study, said the discovery suggested that drugs like statins to control cholesterol in teens if 'lifestyle measures have failed'. Fluctuation may be dangerous due to how it impacts protective immune cells known as resident arterial macrophages, which alter in the early stages of atherosclerosis.
The team's analysis found those with high cholesterol levels, through blood tests as children, were more likely to have the biggest build-up of plaque in the arteries. He also told MailOnline that the results suggested Britain should think about increasing awareness about the hazards of high cholesterol in childhood, and intervention.
'Bad cholesterol' - low-density lipoprotein - carries cholesterol to cells, with excessive amounts then building in the artery walls. 'Increasing awareness is the first step, then this could be followed later by putting in place"screening” programmes at a much earlier age than it is currently done.' It's a relatively common genetic condition affecting one in every 250 people. While an estimated 270,000 Brits have it many people are unaware they are living with it.
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