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What Causes High Cholesterol Levels?
hello doctor my name is Elise Gontier, i had my blood test results and i am particular concern of my cholesterol being 240, HDL 72 and trigliciride 78...i do not understand wether i should be concern, i do not smoke, hardly drink occasional glass of wine and do not consume any fast food, i basically eat healthy...
Mon, 1 Jun 2015
Elise,
Hello to you. I have read over your concern about your lipid levels. I am quite surprised that the ordering physician did not explain them to you as he has to make the decision of to treat or not. A total cholesterol level is recommended to be below 200 mg/dl but 180 mg/dl is considered optimal. Your HDL is very high at 72 - this if the cholesterol that is called "good" because the higher it is the more efficient the blood is at removing the cholesterol and disposing of it. So women want their HDLs above 40. Yours is certainly way above 40. The kicker is how high is your LDL? If greater than 100, there is cause for concern. The doctor is to look at all factors including age, other chronic health conditions, genetics and decide whether to provide a statin medication plus diet and exercise to normalize the lipids. Continue with your glass of wine try to engage in a walking program and talk to your doctor about what we discussed and ask him what you should do. At least now you know what questions to ask him. Thank you for coming to HCM. Kathryn Shattler, MS,RDN
Hello to you. I have read over your concern about your lipid levels. I am quite surprised that the ordering physician did not explain them to you as he has to make the decision of to treat or not. A total cholesterol level is recommended to be below 200 mg/dl but 180 mg/dl is considered optimal. Your HDL is very high at 72 - this if the cholesterol that is called "good" because the higher it is the more efficient the blood is at removing the cholesterol and disposing of it. So women want their HDLs above 40. Yours is certainly way above 40. The kicker is how high is your LDL? If greater than 100, there is cause for concern. The doctor is to look at all factors including age, other chronic health conditions, genetics and decide whether to provide a statin medication plus diet and exercise to normalize the lipids. Continue with your glass of wine try to engage in a walking program and talk to your doctor about what we discussed and ask him what you should do. At least now you know what questions to ask him. Thank you for coming to HCM. Kathryn Shattler, MS,RDN
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