High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart disease or having a heart attack. Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States. Every year about 785,000 Americans have a first heart attack. Another 470,000 who have already had one or more heart attack will have another attack. High blood cholesterol does not cause symptoms, so it is important to find out what your cholesterol numbers are. Lowering cholesterol levels lessens the risk for developing heart disease and reduces the chance of having a heart attack. Lowering high cholesterol levels is important for people of all ages, both men and women.

This indicator shows the percentage of adults who have had their blood cholesterol checked and have been told that it was high.