Update: As The New York Times reports, the new online calculator meant to help doctors assess a patient’s cholesterol risk “appears to greatly overestimate risk, so much so that it could mistakenly suggest that millions more people are candidates for statin drugs.” Shorelines apologizes for the error and always advises bank employees to discuss their medication needs with their health care provider.

One-third of American adults should talk to their doctors about taking cholesterol medication, according to the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, said an AP report published last week in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The new guidelines from the groups are a significant step up from previous recommendations. They have developed a new formula for determining a patient’s risk of suffering a heart attack or a stroke, and hope that wider use of statins — standard cholesterol-lowering medications — will not only prevent heart attacks but also strokes.

Right now, only about 15 percent of American adults take statins. If followed, the new recommendations would approximately double that number. Instead of focusing on using statins to get patients down to a specific cholesterol level, these new guidelines are meant to help anyone the new formula determines is at risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Statins like Lipitor are among the cheapest prescription drugs on the market — they often cost only about a dime a day — because their patents have expired. At your next checkup, you should talk with your doctor about the new guidelines for prescribing statins and find out whether it’s a good idea for you to take them.