Who should have their cholesterol concentration measured? What experts in the United Kingdom suggest

Abstract

General practitioners are being encouraged to participate in preventive care, including preventing coronary heart disease. Now that they can measure cholesterol concentrations in their surgeries they need to decide which patients should be screened. Several reports on measuring cholesterol concentrations in the United Kingdom were reviewed to see if experts agreed about who ought to be screened. The results showed that currently no national consensus exists, making it difficult for general practitioners to plan policies for their patients.