Health Tip of the Week, sponsored by Baton Rouge General: Is high cholesterol due to nature or nurture?

Forty percent of U.S. adults have high cholesterol, and many claim their numbers are a matter of genetics. While it’s true that high cholesterol can run in families, it’s important to understand the difference between genetically high cholesterol that’s caused by a gene mutation and cholesterol that’s high among many family members who may share unhealthy lifestyle factors. About 1 in 250 (0.4%) people in the world have familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), or what’s commonly known as genetic high cholesterol. Left untreated, 50% of men by age 50 with FH and 30% of women by age 60 will have a heart attack. Learn more about high cholesterol.