Update on cholesterol levels

[NMKC]

Hi all,

Putting this information down here in case it is useful for anyone as I'm in the care of an excellent cardiologist.

43f and with 2 arteries that have 25 - 50% stenosis. No history of any cardiac events. Stress mri showed no issues. This was only detected due to investigation following lifelong high cholesterol (ldl 4.9)

Long story short, following 6 weeks of Rosuvastatin 10mg and a relatively strict Mediterranean diet regime (though my diet was pretty good before). my latest blood tests have my ldl down to 1.5.

Doctor was thrilled but he wants it reduced further. He said it should be at least under 1.4 and preferably under 1! He was between doubling my statins or adding Ezetimibe as he did not want me to lose any more weight but we decided on Ezetimibe to take alongside it as I have tolerated my current level of statins well and a doubling might be a bit strong for me given my size.

Just thought I would leave this here in case anyone finds use in this information. I have certainly found the posts here highly informative!

[EU95PTM]

Well done on getting your LDL level so low, that really is good news and it’s great that you have such an excellent cardiologist.

Has he recommended any genetic testing for you? The only reason I ask is that due to your young age. Premature CAD is often genetically linked. I’m 52 and had a heart attack at 51 and amongst other things take 80mg of Atorvastatin and 10mg of Ezetimibe. I was referred by cardiology to a lipid clinic and tested for Lipoprotein (a) and Familial Hypercholesterolemia. I’m waiting for the FH result but the Lipoprotein (a ) has come back very significantly elevated and gives me the answer as to why I had a heart attack so young. Lp(a) makes the LDL cholesterol more “sticky” leading to premature cardiovascular disease.

It sounds like you are doing all the right things and thank you for sharing.

[NMKC in reply to EU95PTM]

Thank you I am lucky to have private health insurance through work so decided to make use of it after waiting 9 months on the NHS. What I found interesting was the <1 ldl target. He said the lower the better essentially!

I did have my LPa tested and it was under 7 which I think is fine? Also he didn't seem to think I had FH as he did a baseline ldl test before I started statins and my ldl was 3.6 (I had been on the med diet by then). He said my numbers would be a lot higher if I did.

He feels it is polygenetic which means that there are multiple genes each contributing individually to a slight rise in cholesterol levels which added together make for a big rise.

It's crazy how you can feel totally fine and fit and all this can be happening internally without you knowing!