The National Cholesterol Education Program - Progress and prospects

The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) is a prime example of the role the National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute has played, in its 50 y ears; of existence, as a catalyst for translating research advances into im proved clinical and public health practices. Since its inception in 1985, t he NCEP has adhered to 2 principles in mounting educational campaigns for p rofessionals and the public: building on a strong science base and working in partnership with other organizations. In slightly more than a decade, th e NCEP has made significant progress toward its goal of reducing the preval ence of high blood cholesterol. The impact of cholesterol education is clea rly visible in 4 major trends: increasing professional and public cholester ol awareness; declining dietary intakes of saturated fat, total fat, and ch olesterol; falling serum cholesterol levels; and a continuing decline in co ronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates. Nevertheless, cholesterol level s are still being undertreated, especially in patients with CHD, and substa ntial scientific and educational challenges remain. bs it looks forward to the 21st century, the NCEP plans to make continued progress by using emergi ng scientific developments and pursuing the powerful combination of cholest erol lowering in CHD patients and in primary prevention.