FDA OKs Skin Test or Cholesterol Levels
Health officials approved the nation’s first skin test for cholesterol, a system that detects the heart-clogging substance through the palm of the hand. The action approves its use only in certain already sick patients.
It’s not for routine cholesterol screening, the Food and Drug Administration stressed. Drawing a little blood remains the only way to test the general population for high cholesterol.
Instead, the Cholesterol 1,2,3 test is for people already known to have severe heart disease or for heart attack survivors, an extra test to help doctors decide how high the risk of further heart damage is and thus what next steps to take, the FDA said.
It is unclear when the product will be available in the U.S.
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