Cholesterol levels- worry or not

[craig1912]

Just had a test and results are

Total. 5.39mmol/L
Triglyderide 1.02mmol / L
HDL 2.02mmol/L
LDL 2.91mmol/L

Due to the state of the GP service I can’t talk to anyone- had a text saying I may benefit from a Statin. I asked for a detailed breakdown and then advised to have another test in 12 mths.

I know the overall level is above ideal but ratio of good to bad is pretty good.

Any thoughts?

[pidsy]

It’s not drastically high but above the recommended level of 3.
Statins were a bit of a cure all a few years ago and not great for everyone.

It’s worth waiting to speak to your doctor to try and work out why it’s high - more than likely it’ll be lifestyle related and fixable by you with a few tweaks (diet, exercise etc) but it can be down to genetics too.

I have FH - my levels have never been below 6. Have been as high as 9.5 purely down to a lack of enzymes which break down cholesterol. I take ezetimibe to control it as I can’t take statins.
It’s something I wouldn’t have ever known about without further investigation.

Don’t let your doc fob you off by sticking you straight on statins.

[SlimJim16v]

Look into reducing your intake of saturated fats. That can lower it just enough to be acceptable.

[craig1912]

Thanks- don’t eat much saturated fat and have a fairly healthy diet. Exercise has dropped off with gyms closed although I do walk 5 miles a day. Rejoining gym next month, that and I might try plant sterols to see if it comes down a bit.

[grumbledoak]

You want your HDL high and your Triglycerides low, which you have. I would not worry about a slightly high total cholesterol as long as that is the case.

Statins are nasty. Pushed hard. Lots of side effects. Very few benefit - only men who have had a heart attack. A trillion dollar fraud.

[Marcellus]

It may be diet related, it may not.

I had a score of 13.2, after an initial diet review which suggested nothing put on statins with no side effects to bring me down to a score of 4.

Have since found out that;
- my brothers all have high cholesterol
- my parents both have high cholesterol
- all 4 of my grandparents died of cholesterol related illnesses,

Guess my high cholesterol is hereditary and not diet related!

Have a chat with your doctor and then take it from there.

[pidsy]

Marcellus said:

It may be diet related, it may not.

I had a score of 13.2, after an initial diet review which suggested nothing put on statins with no side effects to bring me down to a score of 4.

Have since found out that;
- my brothers all have high cholesterol
- my parents both have high cholesterol
- all 4 of my grandparents died of cholesterol related illnesses,

Guess my high cholesterol is hereditary and not diet related!

Have a chat with your doctor and then take it from there.

You need to speak to your cardiologist about testing for FH.
No malein my dads side of the family has lived past 50.
It’s perfectly treatable but needs to be monitored.

[Marcellus]

pidsy said:

Marcellus said:

It may be diet related, it may not.

I had a score of 13.2, after an initial diet review which suggested nothing put on statins with no side effects to bring me down to a score of 4.

Have since found out that;
- my brothers all have high cholesterol
- my parents both have high cholesterol
- all 4 of my grandparents died of cholesterol related illnesses,

Guess my high cholesterol is hereditary and not diet related!

Have a chat with your doctor and then take it from there.

You need to speak to your cardiologist about testing for FH.
No malein my dads side of the family has lived past 50.
It’s perfectly treatable but needs to be monitored.

Yep, all well in hand and being monitored for the last 10years, but thanks for your comments.

[DaveGrohl]

grumbledoak said:

You want your HDL high and your Triglycerides low, which you have. I would not worry about a slightly high total cholesterol as long as that is the case.

Statins are nasty. Pushed hard. Lots of side effects. Very few benefit - only men who have had a heart attack. A trillion dollar fraud.

This sums up an immensely complicated and utterly misunderstood area of medical knowledge. Google LDL particle size and you'll start to see why conventional "knowledge" on cholesterol is turning out to be wrong.

Reducing saturated fat will reduce LDL slightly, but reducing your LDL level will not bring about any positive outcome. Saturated fats increase large less dense LDL particles but reduce small dense LDL particles, you actually want this. The small dense particles are the problem and these are increased by sugars, starches and industrial vegetable oils. Pretty much the exact opposite of current health advice. Taking statins will reduce your LDL level but will not bring about a positive outcome precisely because of the previous sentences. Doesn't stop the majority of doctors believing they're "helping" though but this is what they've been told to tell you. Knowledge moves on.

The good news is that there are several markers which are known to be helpful, LDL isn't one of them. HDL and triglycerides are markers, the triglyceride/HDL ratio also and total cholesterol/HDL. C-reactive protein is another, there are several others. Good luck with discussing this with your doctor. You may be lucky and have one of the more enlightened doctors who keep learning. Oh, and stay away from the google favourites Healthline, Mayo Clinic and WebMD. 20th Century thinking. Just educate yourself.

Edited by DaveGrohl on Sunday 20th June 08:36

[DaveGrohl]

craig1912 said:

Thanks- don’t eat much saturated fat and have a fairly healthy diet. Exercise has dropped off with gyms closed although I do walk 5 miles a day. Rejoining gym next month, that and I might try plant sterols to see if it comes down a bit.

Look up Zoe Harcombe and her take on plant sterols.

Edited by DaveGrohl on Sunday 20th June 08:38

[Armitage.Shanks]

Just come across this thread as my results have come back from my 5 yearly NHS health check as I'm in my late 50s.

Serum cholesterol: 5.8
Serum triglycerides: 0.9
Serum HDL: 2.09
Serum LDL: 3.3
Cholesterol/HDL ratio: 2.78
Se non HDL: 3.7

Normal blood pressure, acceptable weight and BMR and I exercise (cardio) 5-6 times per week.

Given I'm over the Govt recommended figure of 5.0 the nurse left me with the impression I was going to leave the surgery and drop dead despite a QRISK2 score of 4.4%

Whilst not a drinker I seem to enjoy all the stuff we shouldn't eat like hard cheeses etc.

Is this a statin issue as I'd' prefer not to go on them?