Cholesterol update

[Helzbells]

So spoke to the GP today who is furious at the heart association nurse. Not very helpful she said to scare patients witless.

She said given how high it is it could be a rogue result. It could be that I have a problem and I probably will end up on statins at some point but in need to stop blaming myself as unless I'm secretly binge eating soft cheese my diet is not likely to be causing it.

She can see why I'm now panicking but they need to repeat the test in six weeks time and if it's still high she will consult with the cholesterol specialist and take it from there. I have no familial history and so there might be a reason for it. My cholesterol has been high for about 15 years. In 2015 it was 6.8 and at that point I was running 20k a week.

She said it's a complicated equation that needs to be thought about. Despite recent events I am one of the healthiest patients she has and we shouldn't rush in to anything.

[Helzbells]

She also said that although my unhealthy cholesterol was high my healthy cholesterol was good as well so it needs thinking about

[nomoreheels]

Well, it sounds as though she's being cautious so see how the repeat test pans out & take it from there. Try not to worry, with your HDL being good is a huge positive as far as your heart is concerned. Whatever you're thinking concentrate on the fact it's not your fault, you're doing all the right things, just keep reminding yourself that.

[Simba1992]

She was right the nurse. Cholesterol is good in many ways. As you age your cholesterol increases and there is a reason for this. There was a study that showed that mortality among seniors was the lowest among those with cholesterol 7 and highest among those with low cholesterol. Nothing is ever black and white. Studies have also shown that eating statins does not decrease the risk for cv events if you haven't already had them. After CVD does however have an effect this is why heart specialists today often recommend statins to prevent new attacks and not as a profilactic measure.

[Simba1992 in reply to Simba1992]

Here is a good link to understanding cholesterol and what we need it for😊Scroll down a bit on article.

functionalps.com/blog/2010/...

[hawker955]

Helzbells. GIve this link to your GP: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/237...

This is to the largest online library of medical research and is based in Washington USA.

Note the final sentence that states: CONCLUSIONS:

This meta-analysis suggests that heme iron intake was associated with an increased risk of CHD.[ and CHD = coronary heart disease.] Other evidence indicates that this is more important than our cholesterol intake. HTH?

[oldtimer in reply to hawker955]

So a vegetarian (eating non-haem iron) should be at lower risk, oh good!

[Simba1992 in reply to oldtimer]

Not so straightforward the longlivity of vegetarians.

lifeextension.com/magazine/...

[Simba1992]

More interesting reading on cholesterol.

myscienceacademy.org/2012/0...

[hawker955]

Oldtimer,

Yes that would seem to be a reasonable conclusion. I think that it might explain the better health clamed for a vegetarian diet, in part at least.

[Helzbells]

However as I'm a 99% vegetarian who eats oily fish two times a week, cooks from scratch and hasn't drunk alcohol for a year and seen my cholesterol rocket to 8.8 I'm not convinced about anything anymore.

My brother, overweight, breakfast in McDonald's every morning, take away every night. Cholesterol fantastic and lower than four.

[Neonkittie17 in reply to Helzbells]

That seems bonkers I know. Hugs, dear Hels. xx

[Simba1992 in reply to Helzbells]

High cholesterol often connected to thyroid dysfunction. One of the risks with vegetarian eating is in fact hypothyroidism.

[MandaJaneP]

Hi Helzbells

Your comment about what you and your brother inherited made me smile.......life is indeed not fair and the guiding principle of the universe is Sod's Law.

I have some sort of undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis and am on Methotrexate.

I also had a healthcheck this week and my cholesterol is raised (6.6). So I was concerned, especially as I've always eaten healthily and drink very little ☹. But when I looked at the other risk factors for heart disease, I'm not doing too badly (weight, smoking, exercise, family history etc) and my Q-risk is 3.25, ie I have a 3.25% chance of a cardiovascular event (sounds like a party!) in the next 10 years. Now, I'm not a betting woman but those seem like pretty good odds to me, and I want to balance potential length of life with quality of life.

So I'm coming off the Benecol and going back on the Brie......but of course the Law of Sod laughs at statistics, and my next post may well come from the Cardiac Unit. I think Terry Pratchett said something about million-to-one chances turning up nine times out of ten.

Good luck with balancing your risk factors and coming up with some winning numbers xx

[ITYFIALMCTT in reply to MandaJaneP]

I keep seeing excellent quotations and quips from Pratchett but have to confess that I've never read the novels.

[MandaJaneP in reply to ITYFIALMCTT]

Well, you're in the enviable position of being able to discover them for the first time!........Sir Terry wrote over 50 novels, and collaborated on several more. A writer I admire not just for his pun-filled, wise and witty books, but also for his humanity, generosity, love of cats and orangutans, and finally his grace under the "embuggerance" (his word) of the disease that killed him. My favourites are Guards Guards, Pyramids, Moving Pictures and Soul Music, and I re-read them when times are tough. I hope you read them and like them.

M x

[Helzbells]

Hi I agree apparently my Q risk came out at something like 1% but it seems they still want to stick me on the statins which seem to have more side effects and made my mother severely ill! I'm not convinced we fully understand the cholesterol heart attack link