High LDL, genetic?

3 months after my heart attack and I had my cholesterol measured. TC was down from 7.2 to 6.1 and LDL was at 4.5(!)

I've lost 2 stone but still have another stone to reach a healthy weight. I'm noticeably still carrying visceral fat. My diet has changed significantly, and exercise levels are up.

I'm not on statins for which I won't go into right now.

It has been suggested that my LDL could be genetic and that it could be impossible to control through lifestyle changes alone. I've read about Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) but have seen no guidelines as to what someone's cholesterol might be with FH. Does anyone know?

[Chappychap]

The majority of people who have heart attacks don't exhibit any LDL issues. Furthermore, the majority of people with raised LDL won't have a heart attack.

So LDL scores, although useful, aren't actually a great productive tool. What's more there's recent research that seems to be suggesting that it's not the overall LDL score that's important, more the scores for the three individual constituent components of LDL.

Better to focus on your lifestyle changes. Because (unlike LDL) there's an enormous body of evidence that shows how regular brisk exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, sticking exclusively to a Mediterranean diet, quitting smoking, not drinking to excess, etc, will all significantly reduce your risk of future heart attacks.

Good luck!

[Hidden in reply to Chappychap]

Thanks. This echoes my thoughts to a degree and gives me something to think about. I had read something similar about the lack of correlation between cholesterol and heart attacks, but there is also a lot of conflicting views. I'd tend to edge towards your assessment.

[valeriep]

I have FH and when my overall cholesterol was first measured in my early 50's, it was 14.5. Even on 80mg of Lipitor, the lowest measurement was 6. For most of my life, I've been underweight and I've never smoked, but apparently, I inherited a defective gene through my father's side of the family. The hospital suggested that my sister receive genetic testing to see if she also had FH, but as her cholesterol was in the 6-7 range and responded to statins, her GP told her he thought it was unlikely and didn't bother.

[Hidden in reply to valeriep]

That's really helpful. Thanks for taking the time to share that.