A new study says that a change in health recommendations might lead to lower cholesterol levels and more treatment for people with high levels of heart disease risk. Dr. Pankaj Arora, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, led the study. The news is very heartening, Arora said, but there is more to do. Heart disease is the world’s leading killer, and high cholesterol is a key risk factor. Doctors have long treated patients based mostly on their level of so-called “bad” cholesterol, known as LDL. In 2013, new guidelines in the United States urged doctors to examine people’s overall heart risk. In other words, the guidelines recommended that doctors consider age, blood pressure, diabetes and other factors. The idea was that people with the highest risk would get the most benefit from cholesterol-lowering medications called statins.