Figures recently published by the South African Heart and Stroke Foundation reveal some shocking statistics about heart disease and high cholesterol in South Africa:

• 195 South Africans die every day because of some form of heart and blood vessel disease
• For every woman that dies of a heart attack, two men die
• More than half of these deaths occur prematurely, before the age of 65 years, and have a major impact on the economy of the country.

High cholesterol increases the risk of a heart attack. The lowering of cholesterol is important for everyone: whether you are young or old, male or female, suffering from heart disease, or not.

If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol you need not feel alone, especially if you are South African. A survey of high cholesterol levels (total cholesterol greater than 5 mmol/L) in South Africa revealed that the majority of our adult Coloured, Indian and White population suffer from high cholesterol. In these population groups, 7 out of 10 men and 6 out of 10 women over the age of 20 suffer from high cholesterol! The nasty fact is that in people over the age of 45, heart disease and stroke overtake HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death among South Africans! It is important to remember that by lowering cholesterol that is too high you lessen your risk for developing heart disease and possibly dying from a heart attack.