The National Institute of Health (NIH) Guidelines

The (U.S.) National Institute of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Cholesterol Education Program provides a web site with information on risk calculation and risk factors for CHD. They state that "elevated LDL cholesterol is a major cause of CHD. In addition, recent clinical trials robustly show that LDL-lowering therapy reduces risk for CHD." Therefore, identifying elevated LDL, and using LDL lowering therapy is their primary target. The first step of their program requires cholesterol testing and risk evaluation using the following guidelines: