Peggy Fleming on High Cholesterol

N E W   Y O R K, March 5, 2002 -- Ice-skating star Peggy Fleming is a gorgeous, healthy-looking Olympic gold medalist — but she was recently diagnosed with high cholesterol, a leading risk factor for heart disease.

Fleming, 53, comes from a family plagued by heart disease. When she won the gold medal in the 1968 Olympics, Fleming's father wasn't there to see it. He died of a heart attack while he was returning from one of her earlier competitions. He was only 41. Fleming's younger sister died at 50, also of heart disease.

When her own cholesterol level hit 230, Fleming grew concerned, knowing that it put her at risk for heart disease. If your total cholesterol level is 240 or more, it is considered high, and experts say that your risk of heart attack — and, indirectly, of stroke — is greater.

Fleming is now working on an educational campaign called "Go for the Goal." It was created to focus public attention on the dangers of high cholesterol as a risk factor for heart disease.

"People need to go to their doctor — they should find out what their risk factors are," said Fleming on Good Morning America. "My risk factors was my genetics."

Watch Your Diet

A good diet and regular exercise are essential in battling cholesterol. Experts recommend reducing cholesterol in your blood by eating foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol; losing weight if you need to; and exercising 30 to 40 minutes on most days of the week.

Fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes tend to be low in fat, and they do not contain cholesterol. The American Heart Association suggests that you eat foods high in complex carbohydrates and fiber (some kinds of soluble fiber, such as pectin and oat bran, when eaten in large amounts in a diet low in saturated fat may reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol). AHA also suggests eating 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber per day.

Tips from Dr. Tim

ABCNEWS' Dr. Tim Johnson offered the following tips for lowering your risk of heart disease, after new guidelines on cholesterol-lowering statin drug were released by the National Institutes of Health last year.

Get a complete cholesterol blood profile test every five years, starting at age 20. It should include a total number, LDL (low density lipoprotein), HDL (high density lipoprotein) and triglycerides.

Keep "bad" cholesterol, the LDL kind, below 100.

Keep good cholesterol above 40.

Johnson said he doesn't believe that everyone should rush out and get the new cholesterol drugs, but he said those who are older and at greater risk for coronary artery disease or stroke, and especially those at risk for high cholesterol, should talk to their doctors about statins.

"The most important thing is that there are so many people who could benefit from these drugs, especially those with high cholesterol and coronary disease who aren't taking them," Johnson said. "These are almost miraculous for that purpose."

One word of caution about the drugs though: A new report released Monday indicates that hospitalized heart patients who abruptly stop taking cholesterol-lowering drugs suffer a rebound effect that makes them three times more likely to die or have a heart attack than those who stay on the medicine, researchers say.

The German-led study found that patients hospitalized for acute chest pains lose the protective benefits of statin drugs in as little as 24 hours after stopping the medicine because their nitric oxide levels quickly fall to below-normal levels.

Many Types of Statins

There are currently five drugs in the family of statins. Statin drugs are very effective for lowering LDL cholesterol levels and have few immediate short term side-effects. Overall, the benefits of the new statin drugs are that they are easy to administer, have high patient acceptance and have few drug-drug interactions. The most common side effects are gastrointestinal, including constipation and abdominal pain and cramps. These symptoms are usually mild to severe and generally subside as therapy continues.Here is a list of statins, and the names they are sold under:

Lovastatin, sold as Mevacor

Pravastatin, sold as Pravachol

Simvastatin, sold as Zocor

Fluvastatin, sold as Lescol

Atorvastatin, sold as Lipitor

Even if you think you're in good shape, go to your primary care physician, get a complete cholesterol profile blood screen and talk to your doctor about assessing your personal risk factors, Johnson said.