Younger patients pop more cardio meds

Whippersnappers are getting a jump on Grandpa. They're using cholesterol and blood pressure meds earlier and earlier--so much so that growth in sales to young folks is outpacing the growth of sales to seniors.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs among the 20- to 44-year-old crowd jumped by 68 percent over six years, according to new data from Medco Health Solutions. Roughly 4.2 million in that age group are taking cholesterol meds. At the same time, use of blood pressure remedies increased 21 percent. The reason? Doctors speculate that it's rising rates of obesity (the bad news) and more aggressive preventive treatment (the good).

- see the news release from Medco
- take a look at the report from the Washington Post