A consultant cardiologist has cycled the length and breadth of Ireland to raise awareness among the public about cholesterol.
Professor Vincent Maher from Tallaght Hospital has cycled from Malin to Mizen, and from Achill to Dalkey, and along the way, he has carried out cholesterol tests on more than 200 people at six sites across the country.
One third of the people tested as part of the awareness campaign in recent days were found to have significant cholesterol abnormalities.
Prof Maher, who has been dealing with patients with heart disease for years, said the findings did not surprise him.
"I realised that too many young people were coming in with heart attacks and a lot of it is to do with high cholesterol. Heart disease is our biggest killer and most people are unaware that cholesterol is the cause of it," said Prof Maher.
For many people it was the first time that they had had their cholesterol tested.
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"Most people don't know what their cholesterol is, those that do, know a single number which is the total cholesterol. But you need to know how much bad cholesterol you have," he said.
"LDL is the bad cholesterol and HDL is the good cholesterol. Ideally, the levels of LDL should be below three for most people, and certainly if you have heart disease it should be below two. And you're good cholesterol should be above one - the higher the better," he said.
Prof Maher said people can improve their good cholesterol and reduce their bad cholesterol by improving diet, and exercising, and not smoking.
However, "you can only reduce it by 20%," he explained.
"80% of cholesterol is hereditary so just because you are slim, fit and healthy, doesn't mean that you don't have an underlying cholesterol problem that could be damaging your arteries," said Prof Maher.
This is why Prof Maher is encouraging people to know their numbers, and get their cholesterol checked.
