My heart

[Peekaboo3222]

I've just found out that my cholesterol 8.8. 3 members of my family. Grandad dad,brother what's the chance I have this

[BeKind28-]

Hello

So I hope I have got this right your Cholesterol is 8.8 and 3 other close members of your family have high cholesterol to ?

If I have and you have all looked after yourselves diet exercise etc it might be one of those things that is in your family genes

Now you have found out though there are things you can do which give you an advantage of getting it down before it could have started to affect your health

Statins which I know a lot do not want to take but sometimes they are needed , watch your diet carefully for fats and take a walk or some form of exercise as often as you can

These 3 things should get that cholesterol down

Let us know how you get on x

[RufusScamp]

It is possible that high cholesterol runs in your family.. This is not easy to control by diet, so if your GP recommends statins, you need to give it serious consideration.

The things BeKind recommends should help, but may not be enough. More fruit and veg, and exercise will always help with most conditions. Hope you find something that suits you.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

Anyone who has a total cholesterol of 8.8 is likely, but not certain, to have such a high total governed by genetics, and that means other linked family members may also carry the faulty gene. I also have naturally high cholesterol of over 9 and have cousins from my mothers side of the family who are similarly placed. However my two sons are fortunately not affected. It seems that people with very high cholesterol are likely dispatched to lipid clinics nowadays for specialist investigation and treatment which is a good thing, something that I missed since my diagnosis was over 25 years ago. However it is not all bad news, since in my case I now have a cholesterol of less than 4 due to ezetimibe and max dose statin, plus lifestyle measures. That said, for someone with a cholesterol level of about 9 lifestyle measures alone are unlikely to get the cholesterol down enough. The best I ever got was about 6.5 through a miserable inconvenient diet and other lifestyle measures, but then it slowly crept back up, so I started taking statins and that made a marked improvement with a less miserable lifestyle regime.

[JeremiahObadiah]

I am not medically qualified but have high cholesterol and have garnered a bit of information along the way which I will try to pass on to you.

Now you have found that you have high cholesterol, you are in a good place to start to take steps to prevent future issues.

Was your test done by your GP? They should call you in and discuss the results. It is worth asking the GP, or lipid clinic if you get referred, as much as you can about your own situation and see what help you can access.

Are you overweight, have a poor diet, smoke or drink a lot? If so you will probably be advised to eat a Mediterranean style diet choosing healthy fresh foods over prepackaged or sugary snacks, seek help to give up cigarettes/alcohol if those are a problem, take up an exercise routine etc.

However, when the issue is found in other family members it can be a genetic disposition where the liver naturally makes too much cholesterol. Whilst all these healthy lifestyle changes will be beneficial in that case and will also help your overall health, they can not usually bring cholesterol numbers down sufficiently and that would probably mean statins or other cholesterol lowering medications are recommended.

Being female you are in a good position at the moment as so far you will have had some hormonal protection but that reduces. It is wise for you to get medical help now, they may say something like come back in a year and we will see how you are getting on or they may feel it merits treating now . It would also be wise for your family members to be checked too.

You are 51, you say your granddad and father have or had high cholesterol, what age are they/did they live to? Are any other family members on cholesterol medication?

With best wishes

[Peekaboo3222 in reply to JeremiahObadiah]

They all died in their early 40s also another brother had a parchly blocked valve. So 4 of my family all died . But I have menopause I don't have them hormones anymore.

[Astronomyrules]

Hi, I am only familiar with the inherited condition is called familial hypercholesterolemia which is a common cause of very high cholesterol. You asked what are the chances of inheriting the condition.As it's a dominant gene theoretically that is 50 per. cent. This is not as bad as it seems . My grandfather and mother had the condition, but I'm the only one of 4 siblings to have inherited it. i.e. the coin was tossed 4 times, but only came up heads once. The good news is, if you are born without FH you cannot pass it on to your descendents s. M.y siblings families are all free of it. I have 1 daughter who is also negative so my grandchildren, should I have any, will not suffer. I hope this helps. In addition to life style changes, statins and related tablets, if necessary, there are also injections that lower cholesterol . Sadly there is no lipid clinic in my area. I hope there is in yours. Incidentally I'm 72 and wasn't diagnosed until my late 40s.Its good that now you should be monitored for heart and other potential problems. Wishing you the best of luck.

[Lowerfield_no_more in reply to Astronomyrules]

Just to add to your comments, within a NICE publication below, there is reference to the incidence in the UK of Heterozygous FH, the more common form of FH, which is between 1 in 250 to 1 in 500, although the actual identification in individuals is less than 10% (averaged out across the UK) at the present time.

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/hype...

[Astronomyrules in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Thanks for your additional info that I'm sure will be useful to Peekaboo and many others. I'm heterozygous FH and my untreated cholesterol was initially 13.7, now it's around 2.3. I believe that in homozygous untreated HF levels can be in their 20s.

[Lowerfield_no_more in reply to Astronomyrules]

It would be interesting for you to share how you have managed to reduce your cholesterol from 13.7 to 2.3, which is outstanding. As you will see from my earlier comment with best intentions and meds, I have only managed from about 9 to just under 4.

[Peekaboo3222 in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

I only found out last week waiting on Dr

[Astronomyrules in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Hi, in answer to your query I take 20mg rosuvastatin ( max dose my body will tolerate) , 15 mg ezetimibe to reduce my cholesterol to about 8.5, but then when i started injecting 140mg Repatha (evocoumlab) fortnightly my cholesterol dropped to it's current level. According to my cardiologist I have the best response of all his Repatha patients. I also have a low fat high, fiber, Mediterranean style diet. Apologies if I've spelt some of the names incorrectly.

[Lowerfield_no_more in reply to Astronomyrules]

Thanks for that. Repatha to the rescue, so a good outcome for you. Stay healthy 👍

[Peekaboo3222 in reply to Astronomyrules]

My dad's and grandad and brother died of massive heart attack. I'm 49 female

[Astronomyrules in reply to Peekaboo3222]

My mum was 57 and her dad 52 , both died of massive heart attacks too. I had unrecognized angina for many years before it became unstable in my late 40s and I reported myself to my GP whereupon my cholesterol was measured and I was immediately referred for a stress test which I failed dismally and was hospitalized.. I was found to have several blockages in my coronary arteries. Including a 99% blockage close to the aorta.. I've been on medications for cholesterol, blood pressure and platelet inhibitors for the past 20 plus years but have never gad a heart attack. I have had some' re-plumbing ' over the years but I've been able to have a relatively active and totally fulfilling life thanks to the NHS and my medications. I hope that you will now be in the system and will be looked after as well as I have been. It's hard at first, but you do adjust with time. If your doctor advises it and you can find a statin that your body accepts I would urge you to take them as they stabilize plaque which is especially important for those of us with high cholesterol. I hope my reply gives you some comfort. We who have a diagnosis and who know what's wrong are the lucky ones. So many people are undiagnosed until it's too late.

[ROBBO36]

Hi there,

Cholesterol in part can be controlled by the individual through diet & exercise alongside meds ie statins.

Have you had your lp (a) lipid levels checked? That is genetic and will potentially have been there from a very young age undetected. I’m finding out more about that given the cardiologists and neurologists for myself were a bit stumped why at my age I’d had a heart attack and TIA in a short space of time. It transpires I have above average lipid levels and that in part will have caused what’s happened to me. That can’t be controlled in the ways I’ve mentioned above.

I’m also now getting tested for familial hypercholesterolaemia, another genetic condition unfortunately. Just a couple of things to possibly bear in mind for your own situation.

Best wishes.