Life Line Screening Results Are In!

[Seahorse]

Hi, Thanks to everyone who enquired if I had my results. Here they are. Carotid Artery Disease - left side normal, right side mild plaque buildup which they state is of no clinical significance as it is not affecting blood flow. Blood flow normal on both sides. No atrial fibrillation, no abdominal aortic aneurysm and normal result for peripheral arterial disease using ankle brachial index. Pretty pleased with that. Not too bad for someone of 46 with FH, an unmedicated cholesterol level of 15 and not diagnosed til age 30. I know there are no guarantees but it has reassured me a bit about my decision not to start my kids age 13 and 9 on statins for a few years.

[Seahorse]

Thanks Traci. Starting to think having FH is not the end of the world. You hear so much doom and gloom about it. It starts to take over your life.

[Aliwally]

Really pleased for you Seahorse, every bit of information is helpful to piece together this jigsaw of FH.

If you wanted to analyse things (which I'm sure you don't!) I wonder if your results are good because you've been taking statins. You would have to get somebody with FH of your age who hasn't been taking statins and compare the results......but then you would need a lot of people and you wouldn't find them as they wouldn't know they had FH.

When I had my carotid scan (NHS) they gave me my percentile rating, did they do this with you? They compared my risk with the average for women of my age.

[Seahorse]

No they didn't give a percentage rating just a reading of PSV<125cm/s on both sides which sounds like it is a blood flow measurement. I will take my results along to my next lipid clinic appointment in December to have them explained.

[FarmerJ]

How much do carotid scans cost? I have just been diagnosed with high cholesterol levels, but don't know how long I;ve had it. Would be a good idea to discover how much (if any) damage has been done.

[Seahorse]

I had the 4 tests done as a package for £139.

[Aliwally]

Just browsing the internet, there are a lot of private companies offering these type of scans, so there is obviously " a gap in the market" if you want to put health care like that.

I think the NHS will only do them if you are showing symptoms, unless you are lucky enough to go to a lipid clinic that offers it routinely,

[MumwithFH]

That is great news Seahorse, I am also very tempted to go for scans too. I did ask my consultant about it but he said that my risk was more of fat filled blisters ? rather than thinning of the arteries. He said there was a risk they could burst? The contents would then block my arteries and I would die (no warning but very quick!) Not sure if I have remembered it correctly (so much to take in). Does that tie in with what the scan picked up too. Did you go for a National company, would not know who to trust but I think it might be worth paying.

[Seahorse in reply to MumwithFH]

The company I used advertise in the national press and I then looked them up on the internet (Life Line Screening). Don't know how they compare with any others though. I also don't know how it compares with what your consultant told you.