NCEP Guidelines for Cholesterol Management

Sponsoring Organization: This executive summary of the 1993 guidelines revision was authored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's (NHLBI's) National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol.

Purpose: The NHLBI has developed these new cholesterol guidelines to help clinicians integrate current findings into clinical practice, with new emphasis on assessing patients' underlying risk for coronary heart disease (CHD).

Key Points:

1. Elevated LDL cholesterol is a major cause of CHD. Evaluation of LDL levels should be a key component of an overall risk-assessment strategy.

2. In people 20 or older, a fasting lipoprotein profile (total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol le…