‘Safe’ Levels of Blood Fats Seen as Set Too High

People who think they have healthy levels of cholesterol may still be risking heart disease, scientists said Saturday.

They said even “normal” levels of blood fats known as triglycerides were high enough to make heart disease likely. So-called normal levels of triglyceride are anywhere between 100 and 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood, a standard measurement of blood.

But the team followed 350 men and women for 18 years and found those with triglycerides at those levels were 50% more likely to have a heart attack, to need heart bypass surgery or angioplasty to treat clogged arteries, or even to die of heart disease.

Writing in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Dr. Michael Miller, a cardiologist at the University of Maryland, recommended that guidelines for desirable triglyceride levels be set lower.

Triglycerides can be broken down with regular exercise and a diet low in fat.