Editor—The targets for cholesterol management seem to be ever decreasing, but I cannot get my head around the fact that in the new guidelines from the British Hypertension Society box 8 suggests we should consider treatment if the 10 year risk of cardiovascular disease is > 20% and the total cholesterol level is > 3.5 mmol/l but the target to be attained, which is printed beside box 8, is higher, 4 mmol/l.1
Can someone explain this anomaly to a simple general practitioner who will have to explain it to patients?
See editorial by Campbell
Competing interests: None declared.
References
- 1.Williams B, Poulter NR, Brown MJ, Davis M, McInnes GT, Potter JF, et al. British Hypertension Society guidelines for hypertension management 2004 (BHS-IV): summary. BMJ 2004;328: 634-40. (13 March.) [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]