--- ---  # High Cholesterol Rate Continues Decline in the U.S.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 1, 2015 5:28 PM UTC  Doctor taking patients blood pressure in examination room Doctor taking patients blood pressure in examination roomGetty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 1, 2015 5:28 PM UTC The percentage of U.S. adults with high cholesterol dropped to 11% in 2013-2014 following a decade of continuous decline, according to a report released Tuesday. More than 18% of Americans over the age of 20 had high cholesterol during the 1999-2000 survey. The decline, reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), comes as Americans have increasingly taken medication like statins to stem high cholesterol. [Changes](http://time.com/120958/who-really-needs-to-take-a-statin/) to guidelines for prescribing statins by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology in 2013 led to a dramatic expansion of who is prescribed the drug. High cholesterol, which can also be reduced through lifestyle changes like a different diet and increased exercise, contributes to heart disease. **Read More:** [Who Really Needs To Take a Statin?](http://time.com/120958/who-really-needs-to-take-a-statin/) High Cholesterol Rate on the Decline in the U.S., CDC Says ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4130856/high-cholesterol-us-decline/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4130856/high-cholesterol-us-decline/"},"headline":"High Cholesterol Rate Continues Decline in the U.S.","datePublished":"2015-12-01T17:28:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:59:59.295Z","description":"The rates has been on the decline over the past decade","url":"https://time.com/4130856/high-cholesterol-us-decline/","keywords":["Heart Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta67b935b28cb8961/69887348ab6d7785426a75de/blood-pressure.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta67b935b28cb8961/69887348ab6d7785426a75de/blood-pressure.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"547016335","caption":"","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/heart-disease/","name":"Heart Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4130856/high-cholesterol-us-decline/","name":"High Cholesterol Rate Continues Decline in the U.S."}}]}] ```