To reduce “bad” cholesterol, patients commonly take medications called statins. Receiving this treatment before bypass surgery may reduce the risk of post-surgery complications.

Statins  used to lower cholesterol appear to reduce the number of heart events suffered in both men and women. However, such medications were not found to reduce stroke or death in women.

Taking cholesterol-lowering statins following a stroke appears to reduce a patient's chance of dying in the hospital and improves their likelihood of returning home when they are discharged.

Cholesterol-lowering statins , typically prescribed only to patients at elevated risk of heart attack or stroke, also appear to benefit patients with a low risk of suffering adverse heart events.

The common practice of predicting the risk of heart attack and stroke a decade into the future might be giving some patients a false sense of security.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials have announced that cholesterol-lowering drug fenofibric acid (Trilipix) might not lower a patient's risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Small undetected strokes are not uncommon in older patients. These incidences may be contributing to an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in such patients.

Though cholesterol-lowering statin drugs have been shown to help prevent a recurrent stroke or a heart attack, a recent study showed only about half are taking statins following a stroke.

Working vigorously to reduce cardiovascular deaths, U.S. health officials have announced a national program that partners with private insurance companies to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes over five years.

American adults have gotten heavier and a sizeable percentage don't live a healthy lifestyle. Young adults and teens seem to be following in those same footsteps.