Norton Healthcare discusses cholesterol and heart disease risk changing

New national guidelines are changing how doctors assess cholesterol and heart disease risk.

According to Norton Healthcare, there’s a new focus on catching heart disease risk earlier and preventing it before it starts.

The new guidelines recommend a more personalized risk assessment so doctors can tailor prevention plans for each patient.

Experts say patients should talk with their doctor about their individual risk and whether additional testing may be appropriate.

“Heart failure is the number one cause of hospitalizations in the United States. And so now we’re broadening the conversation that we’re having with patients. It’s not just about heart attacks and strokes, but we’re now talking about heart failure and the importance of that and more,” said Catrina Hancock of Norton Heart & Vascular Institute.

Heart failure is affected by a lot of things: kidneys, diabetes and obesity. So again, we’re broadening that conversation and we’re not just focusing on just your heart anymore,” Hancock added.

Experts encourage healthy lifestyle changes and using cholesterol lowering medications when needed.