Cholesterol

A question about : Cholesterol

I went to see my doctor today with regards to my level's - total Cholesterol 6.6 - total Cholesterol / hdl 6.0.

Past ten months no alcohol qourn food, no fried foods fruit veg you name it. Breakfast bran, weetabix. Porridge oats etc semi skim milk.

Past ten months lost three stone bmi now 29 so going in the right direction.

Point is my mother has high Cholesterol and is prescribed statins my doctor says as i am only 37 yrs old and that fact i have done all the above i am not classed by government guidlines as a risk of heart problems not untill i get another five years older. I have real concerns, he says i will probably end up on statins but i don't meet the current guidelines at my age. What would you guys do if this was your situation ??

Best answers:

• I am in the same situation, though I am 45. My total cholesterol is around 7.5, triglycerides are sky high but the Dr's computer showed my overall heart risk as very low so no statins recommended. I have had some problems with my heart too with palpitations and coronary spasms so its a worry.
  I am trying to get my weight down a bit and walking more. I read somewhere that diet doesn't really play a part in reducing cholesterol, the most it can be reduced is around 10% by diet and exercise so I would still be rather high!
  TBH, I am not worrying about it and just trying to eat healthier and enjoy life
• I recently went for a health check 3 weeks ago and was shocked when they said my cholesterol was high 7.7. I'm not overweight, I walk or bike everywhere, and thought I ate quite healthy, so been trying hard to cut down on anything that's high fat content and eating more fruit and veg. Going back in 6 months for another check, I'm hoping it will reduce. I wont go on statins if they try and get me to, hate taking any type of tablet.
• Its a nightmare because you feel like you are just another statistic that they hope won't have a heart attack. I am thinking of going private for some advise because i am losing faith in the NHS which is a great shame.
• I'd just carry on like normal, because I don't believe that cholesterol is bad. It's an essential molecule, you'd die without it. However, deficiency is rare as your body makes it for you, with some 75% being made by your liver. The list of essential stuff it does is long, but we never hear about these roles, only that in some people it is part of the deposits that build up in their arteries. Somehow this is assumed to then apply to everyone. However, I think it's very unlikely that the majority of normal, healthy people's bodies are making this stuff when it's bad for us, and that other factors must be behind their arteries clogging up. Sure you can starve yourself of the raw materials used to make it (saturated fats) and/or take statins to block the synthesis of it, but I really doubt there's any benefit for someone who is otherwise in perfectly good health.
  We'll each have to weigh up the options for ourselves, but personally, I don't worry about it at all.
• I have a family history of strokes, my cholesterol was always high 6.6 in early 30s. I was put on statins because of that family history. My mother died aged 60, her sister 62, brother was 39, her dad first stroke in early 40s and disabled until final stroke killed him at 65. So I am one of those who does need them.
• Cholesterol is essential for the body, so the vast majority of it is made in the liver. Statins are effective at reducing cholesterol levels as the block a step in its synthesis. We also know that statins reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke by approx 25%, but the benefit derived from this depends on your risk to start with. The important point is that we do not give statins solely to reduce your cholesterol, we give them to reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
  Cholesterol is one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Other risk factors include age, sex, blood pressure, smoking status, diabetic status, family history and ethnicity. Your GP will have plugged these into a calculator such as Qrisk, which works out your risk of having a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years. The threshold for treatment is currently 20%, although NICE have been consulting on reducing it to 10%. This threshold is so that we don't medicate people unnecessarily. Statins are now dirt cheap (except rosuvastatin), so cost is not really an issue for the NHS - a month's treatment with simvastatin or atorvastatin costs the NHS in the region of Ј1.
  The Qrisk calculator is at https://www.qrisk.org/index.php and you can play around with it. For a male non-smoker, non-diabetic aged 37, with no other medical conditions, with no history in a first degree relative aged under 60, using a cholesterol/HDL ratio of 1.1 (6.6:6.0), using height of 175cm and weight of 88kg (gives BMI of 28.73) and assuming systolic BP is 140mmHg (not mentioned as an issue in OP), gives a risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next ten years as 0.7%.
• Nobody has ever died of cholesterol. The only blood test everybody needs (and unfortunately it's not free) is the homocysteine test. If your GP is reluctant to prescribe it, you can do it privately for about Ј70.
  Yes, it's a lot, but it's money well spent.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homocysteine
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperhomocysteinemia
• It seems age and genetics play a big part in Cholesterol levels as well.
  My dad and some Co-Workers are on Statins to control their Cholesterol levels after heart attacks.
  I'm 32, quite overweight and with a 50/50 bad / healthy diet.
  I always eat my 5 fruit n veg a day and a dose of good carbs on top but along with that i eat junk as well and to excess.
  Exercise once a week just now
  I got my levels checked and was surprised my Cholesterol was 4.2
  There's a lot of foods that do nothing for Cholesterol and a lot of foods that raise it as well. I'd consider looking more at foods that have been proven to actively lower it.
  Monounsaturated and Poly-Saturated fats can lower it in moderation.
  Wholegrains as you mentioned are also good.
  Cut down on saturated fat intake and try and eliminate anything with Trans fats.
  Dark chocolate, nuts, peas, beans can all lower it as well and promote development of the healthy cholesterol.
  In the end with all of it as well is although high Cholesterol is likely to increase the chance of a heart attack it's not set in stone. There's people who have had high cholesterol most of their life and their hearts are fine and people with good cholesterol levels suffering heart attacks.