At the age of 13, Eileen Corbin lost her 47-year-old father to heart disease. Soon after, her uncle died from a heart attack at 53, then it was her brother who succumbed at age 47 and finally her mother at age 66.

Now age 68, Corbin has lived beyond the age of most of her immediate family, and she has done well maintaining a healthy lifestyle with a good diet and plenty of exercise. She thought she was dodging the heart disease bullet that had claimed so many of her loved ones, but a visit to her doctor in November 2012 was a real wake up call.

She was shocked when her doctor said her cholesterol was 262 mg/dL, much higher than the 200 mg/dL range that is considered healthy.

“I got really scared,” Corbin recalled.

Fearing that her doctor would put her on medication, she asked him if she ...