The results of a survey show that one out of four adults in Taiwan might have hyperlipidemia, but it is relatively underdiagnosed in the nation, the Taiwan Society of Lipids and Atherosclerosis said yesterday.
Four of the 10 leading causes of death — heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension — are associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), or hardening of the arteries due to plaque buildup, the group said, citing Ministry of Health and Welfare data for last year.
The ministry’s 2017-2020 National Health Interview Survey showed that one-quarter of people aged 18 or older in Taiwan have hyperlipidemia, which extrapolates to about 5 million people with the condition nationwide, the group said.
Photo: CNA
If high cholesterol goes untreated, plaque can accumulate in the blood vessels and cause ASCVD, it said.
Taiwan Society of Lipids and Atherosclerosis chairman Huang Po-hsun (黃柏勳), who is a cardiologist at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, said that hyperlipidemia is a risk factor of cardiovascular disease, but as symptoms of ASCVD usually do not arise until the narrowing becomes severe, many people are unaware of the condition and do not get an examination.
Taiwan Society of Lipids and Atherosclerosis secretary-general Liu Ping-yen (劉秉彥), director of National Cheng Kung University Hospital’s Department of Internal Medicine, said that the risk of developing heart disease is about three times higher in people with hyperlipidemia, which is defined as having too much “bad cholesterol” — low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) — in the blood.
Too much LDL-C can cause cholesterol to build up on artery walls and form plaque, causing the arteries to harden and narrow, increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack, Liu said.
However, the diagnosis rate of hyperlipidemia in Taiwan is estimated to be only about 52 percent, lower than 80 percent in Japan and 63 percent in South Korea, Huang said.
The diagnosis rate is especially low in young people, but the mortality rate of heart disease in young people is similar to that of elderly people, he said.
People should not wait until cardiovascular events occur to get treatment, but should instead get routine examinations to understand and control their blood cholesterol, seek medical attention if their blood cholesterol is too high and continue to receive treatment steadily to manage it, Huang said.
According to the 2022 Taiwan Lipid Guidelines for High-Risk Patients, while people should keep their LDL-C level below 130mg per deciliter (dl), people with diabetes or kidney disease should target a level below 100mg/dl, and high-risk people who have had a cardiovascular event should have a level below 70mg/dl, Liu said.
People should have their blood cholesterol levels measured every year and should seek medical assistance if the levels are abnormal, he said.
Some people have the misconception that taking drugs is bad for the body, but there are now many options to manage hyperlipidemia, so they can discuss with their doctor which method is best for them, instead of trying folk remedies, he added.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS