Cholesterol confusion

[Ca3489]

Hi, just joined, and have some confusion about test results. My cholesterol test results are:- tc =6.1, hdl=1.5, ldl=4.2, serum cholesterol hdl ratio= 4.1. My fasting trygliceride is 0. 9. When discussed with gp he said losing weight and doing regular exercise would keep me healthy, but doubted it would make much difference to the overall results. He did not advise statins, which I don't want anyway. I'm not sure how bad these results are or if my triglicerides are too low. I am 55 yrs and about 1.5 stones overweight.

[PeterWh]

Increasing exercise such as walking, loosing weight and making some diet changes will make quite a good difference. You can always try the diet changes (I didn't throw most things out of the window!!). It worked for me and manage just by diet now.

[sandybrown]

Please go back to your GP and ask your GP for a JSB2 risk analysis with your results and ask for full explanation.

Food intake control, drinks intake control, watching out for hidden & free sugar in food and regular exercise can help towards a healthy life.

What was the reason for blood cholesterol test.

Take a look at me post on cholesterol this week.

[Ca3489 in reply to sandybrown]

Hi bala, I requested the test because i had gained weight after being inactive for over a year due to a knee injury. I wanted to get fit again. My gp did the nhs health check and tested my sugar at the same time. Apparently i am low risk at 3.35%. He said he wont test again unless my bp goes high. My cholesterol results are bad, but i'm not sure how bad.

[sandybrown in reply to Ca3489]

An example of cholesterol numbers. you need to check with your GP on your numbers!!!!

•Total cholesterol (TChol) - 5.0 mmol/L or less.

•LDL cholesterol after an overnight fast: 3.0 mmol/L or less.

•HDL cholesterol: 1.2 mmol/L or more.

•TChol/HDL ratio: 4.5 or less. That is, your TChol divided by your HDL cholesterol. This reflects the fact that for any given TChol level, the more HDL, the better.

LDL cholesterol should be 3mmol/L or lower

HDL level above 1 mmol/L

Triglyceride level under 1.7 mmol/L

Fasting triglyceride levels should be below 2 mmol/L for both men and women. HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) should be over 1.2 mmol/L for a woman and over 1 mmol/L for a man.

your numbers:

My cholesterol test results are:-

tc =6.1,

hdl=1.5,

ldl=4.2,

serum cholesterol hdl ratio= 4.1.

My fasting trygliceride is 0. 9.

Easy to compare all the numbers are in one place.

The above numbers are from the Internet, guidelines only.

[Hidden]

Just rung my gp for my last results.... my father had bypass surgery 15 years ago age 50 so I like to go once a year to keep an eye (much to the nurse disapproval) so my numbers are

Total=3.1

HDL=1.1

LDL=1.8

Tri=0.5

I was told mine was normal and ok, can somebody shed some light on these numbers to see if I'm on the right track, from what I can see my HDL could do with being higher

[PeterWh in reply to Hidden]

Ask for the printout. The one I get from GP not only states the actual numbers but also the minimum and maximum ones (aka range).

Some of the tests have different ranges for men and women and for age.

If you get no joy PM me and I'll let you have MY ranges.

[sandybrown]

Risk calculators algorithm is man made therefore not very accurate. Only a guide line, 3.5 %?

Is it 3 or 4?, 3 in 100 or 4 in 100 people, not possible for 3.5.

The best calculator is height to waist ratio, only one variable most of the time the waist.

More information on Google.

[sos007 Ambassador]

LDL is too high. Should be 2.0 or less. Medical community focuses on treatment, not prevention of disease. Daily exercise and a healthy diet are critical. You may be having too much meat. Try reducing so you initially go meatless every other day for a few weeks, then try reducing to twice per week. Replace meat with egg-whites, and legumes, such as chick peas, lentils, any any other type of beans you enjoy. Look up some recipes to make these more enjoyable. Read my post 'Getting off statins'.

[sos007 Ambassador]

Your triglycerides are NOT too low. The lower, the better. Triglycerides are fat molecules in the blood triggered by excess sugar and simple carb diet. Your current levels are fine but even lower would be best. To truly assess risk of heart disease, get the following tests done at the same time as your next blood test: High sensitivity CRP, MPO, A1C. The first two measure the level of inflammation in your body and the third measures the average glucose levels in you blood over the last 3 months. You will establish a baseline so you can compare future results against to monitor your progress.