What is genetic high cholestrol?

[Green26]

Hello everyone I am new to this forum and happy to find some support here. I have just been given my cholestrol level which is 8.5 and doctor has given me 40mg avrostatins to lower it. He says it must be genetic as I exercise at the gym 5 days a week, walk average of 8k steps a day and my BMI is in the healthy range. I am quite upset by this finding as it looks as if I am forced to take statins for the rest of my life. I hate taking meds of any sort. I am 72. Has anyone else been in this situation? I find it quite scary. Thanks for reading.

[Lawburd]

Hi Green26, my husband has the same issue as you. At 61 after many years of healthy eating and gym/walking 5 days a week, he was told that he needed a statin (cholesterol 7.3). His sister of 70 who swims for an hour every day also has high cholesterol. Neither are overweight at all.

The doctor gave him first Atorvastatin and then Rosuvastatin but unfortunately he found they both caused muscle pain in the legs after a month or two plus tinnitus. He’s now off statin and on ezetimibe which so far is working well. It’s comforting to know there are a number of options if the statins are causing side effects.

He also took the precaution of having a carotid artery scan (paid a few hundred pounds privately) to get an insight into potential atherosclerosis issues and discovered he had a partially narrowed carotid artery and this let to further NHS scans which revealed his heart to be fine. A carotid scan might be worth considering if it’s feasible for you. He’s certainly glad he had the scan so that he can take measures now to lower his cholesterol and prevent further deposits in his arteries.

Good luck with finding solutions that work for you.

[Green26 in reply to Lawburd]

Hi Lawburd

Thanks so much for the information which is most helpful and reassuring. Its good to know that there are various meds to try if they dont suit. Thank goodness for meds, although I never thought Id say that! I will continue to do what Im doing but focus in on my diet avoiding butter and cheese which I must admit is my weakness, but its a small price to pay for peace of mind as we cant see whats going on inside us.

Best wishes to you and your family.

[Pollypuss]

well I wonder if I should have had genetic high cholesterol because my heart bypass at 78 was attributed to genetics . However my cholesterol was fine, blood pressure fine, and all my aches and pains were thought to be muscular problems. I have since met someone who’s father had very high cholesterol all his life who died in his late eighties without taking any medication and his son has exactly the same. However that situation must be unusual . I suppose

[Green26 in reply to Pollypuss]

Hi Pollypuss,

I have also heard of similar stories but I dont want to take the risk of a heart attack even though I hate the thought of meds. Its too much of a gamble for me. I hope your heart bypass has improved your health.

[ALB38]

Hi Green26

I personally would not touch statins a barge pole. I was put on them in 2018 following a stroke and had to stop after a few months of horrible side effects. I now take plant sterols bought from Healthspan and have not had another stroke so they must be doing me some good. BTW, when I came off statins it took three weeks for the side effects to go away, so don’t imagine something else was causing them if you have a similar experience.

[Green26 in reply to ALB38]

Thankyou for your reply. I suppose its a bit of a gamble. I have started taking them despite my misgivings and see whether the side effects are manageable. Good thing there are alternatives...

[elliebath]

Hello, I think a lot of us fall into this category. I'm 71, healthy BMI , good diet and I walk an hour daily. My friend who is 66 has an extremely healthy diet and runs half marathons. But we both have familial high cholestrol and family history of fatal heart disease. So both take statins, which as well as controlling cholestrol it acts as an anti inflammatory.

As you say, thank goodness for meds. Very little was available years ago for my father and grandfather. They both died of heart attacks aged 55 and 59.

[Green26 in reply to elliebath]

Hi Elliebath, its good to know that others have the same dilemma as me, I just had no previous knowledge about statins and was glad to find a forum to ask the question. Hopefully they will not have bad side effects for me, but I would prefer to put up with a little discomfort than drop dead like my father and grandfather and great grandfather , and who knows who else...

[elliebath in reply to Green26]

Absolutely ! I think most GPs prescribe Atorvostatin first, but if it doesn't suit you there are other brands.