Cholesterol 1: The First Mistake

Cholesterol 1: The First Mistake

From Research Translation Podcast by David Newman

March 28, 2026 · 21 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the AHA's new cholesterol guidelines and the historical misunderstandings surrounding cholesterol science.

The AHA’s new cholesterol guideline is asking professionals to start earlier, screen more, and treat cholesterol more aggressively, decades before any heart or vascular disease could plausibly occur. What follows, therefore, is the first of a series in which I will attempt to show how doctors (and most others) have misunderstood the science on cholesterol, from the beginning. I will be citing and showing original data from seminal studies, to help clarify what went wrong in translation, and how we can use the same data, productively, today. ---------- “Right there,” the man winced as I pressed on McBurney’s point. It hurt him to palpate his abdomen on the right side, two thirds of the way between his belly button and his pelvic bone. I ordered a CAT scan and blood work, then presented the case to my attending. “Appendicitis” I said, with a flourish. “I called surgery, they’re on their way.” Later, I found the attending scrutinizing the CAT scan results. He turned from the computer, and looked me in the eye. “This gentleman has no appendix. Had it out years ago. Other thoughts?” In the early days of modern medicine, before guidelines and consensus statements, there was a simple…

People in this episode

Host: David Newman

Topics covered

  • cholesterol
  • health guidelines
  • epidemiology
  • medical history
  • risk factors

Keywords

  • cholesterol
  • AHA guidelines
  • risk factors
  • epidemiology
  • medical treatment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AHA

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