Hi I posted here about two months ago when I first had my physical results. My total Cholsetrol was 254 with a HDl of 60 and a LDL of 180 and a trig level of 69. I made it thru the holidays and increased my exercise and just had my cholestrol rechecked on Monday and the results are now total 248, HDL 59, LDL 176 and trig 67.. The doctor advised me to keep up the exercising and come back and be rechecked in April/May if the numbers are not even lower he wants to start meds... Just curious if this is how long it takes to drop and if I continue to exercise and continue to watch what I eat what numbers should I be looking for... Thank you..

Hi I posted here about two months ago when I first had my physical results. My total Cholsetrol was 254 with a HDl of 60 and a LDL of 180 and a trig level of 69. I made it thru the holidays and increased my exercise and just had my cholestrol rechecked on Monday and the results are now total 248, HDL 59, LDL 176 and trig 67.. The doctor advised me to keep up the exercising and come back and be rechecked in April/May if the numbers are not even lower he wants to start meds... Just curious if this is how long it takes to drop and if I continue to exercise and continue to watch what I eat what numbers should I be looking for... Thank you..

Justgettingby:

I answered this partly in another post where someone asked about how long it took to notice changes in lipid profiles. Well, I do tend to treat everything I do like its a big experiment, because...I am a scientist after all.

Anyway, your TG is great, which probably means you low carb it or are in pretty decent shape combined with exercise, or maybe its just plain old genetics in your favor there. Your LDL is more than a bit high, and yes it is a risk factor, but the question is, is it truly the worst risk factor? Your ratio of total: HDL still puts you slightly better than the norm, and again thanks to your decently high HDL--keep up the exercise! ;)

Now, if you play with your diet and reduce fat, you will probably see both your LDL and HDL drop. You might be able to offset this by continued exercise (I certainly was able to). It can't hurt to play around with it though. With respect to diet though, some literature points to saturated fat as raising both LDL and HDL-C, polyunsaturated as lowering both, and monounsaturated fats are implicated in lowering LDL and leaving HDL-C alone.

More than likely, if that LDL does not drop, you will be prescribed a statin. I don't have any personal experience with those because my dysfunction comes from TG and low HDL-C. What may work for you is probably going to be different than what worked for me. Perhaps some of those here that have higher than the norm LDL-C values can offer more suggestions.

Justgettinby,

Here's what the doctor is looking for:
What to do with cholesterol test results



Treatment for high cholesterol should not be based on a single LDL cholesterol measurement. Two LDL measurements within a 1- to 8-week period are recommended. If they differ by more than 30 mg/dL, a third measurement is recommended. Treatment is based on the average of the 2 or 3 measurements.

Two or three measurements of HDL cholesterol are recommended to obtain accurate results.1 A separate test is not required for HDL cholesterol. It can be measured at the same time as LDL with a blood test.

LDL cholesterol

LDL cholesterol below 100 mg/dL is optimal.

LDL cholesterol of 100 mg/dL to 129 mg/dL is near optimal/above optimal.

LDL cholesterol of 130 mg/dL to 159 mg/dL is borderline high.

LDL cholesterol of 160 to 189 mg/dL is high.

LDL cholesterol of 190 mg/dL and above is very high.

Total cholesterol

A total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL is desirable.

A total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL to 239 mg/dL is borderline high.

A total cholesterol of 240 mg/dL and above is high.

HDL cholesterol

HDL cholesterol of less than 40 mg/dL is low.

HDL cholesterol of 60 mg/dL and above is high. HDL levels of 60 and above can help lower your risk for heart disease.

Triglycerides

Triglycerides that are 150 mg/dL to 199 mg/dL are borderline high.

Triglycerides that are 200 mg/dL or more are high.


I hope that helped!

justgettingby,


Whether you realize it or not, you really don't have too clear a picture of your actual risk. Your LDL was most likely never measured, only calculated. If you were to have the LDL measured, it can be broken down to its actual composition in regards to particle size. Your HDL is actually above average, and your triglycerides are excellent. This is a good sign, since this combination often favors Pattern A LDL, which is a larger particle size that is more benign. Pattern B LDL, on the other hand, often correlates more strongly with low HDL and high triglycerides. Pattern B LDL is of a much smaller particle size and is considered considerably more harmful and subject to oxidation.

I think that it would be to your advantage to determine whether your LDL is predominantly Pattern A. The odds appear to be in your favor. So, you may not be as bad off as you think.

In any case, should your doctor insist on prescribing a statin, I would suggest niacin instead. Niacin has advantages, and you may be better off in the long run, especially when you consider the potential for adverse side effects. Niacin is the undisputed champion when it comes to raising HDL. In addition, niacin has the ability to actually increase LDL particle size, which is something statins don't do. Niacin can also help lower lipoprotein(a), another serious risk factor. Statins will not do this. In fact, lipoprotein(a) levels sometimes rise from statin drugs. Statins also deplete a crucially important enzyme, coenzyme Q-10, which can lead to more trouble. So, if you should find yourself faced with the dilemma of which form of treatment to opt for, I would weigh the options carefully.

Could someone tell me the optimal "ratios" of LDL/HDL and Total Cholesterol/HDL -- or any other ratios they use?

Thanks Brenda

Brenda,

I think a very strong marker for cardiac risk is the TC/HDL ratio, which should ideally be below 4.
Usually the LDL/HDL ratio is quoted as risky above 3, but often that's qualified by sex. I don't think it's shown to be as stong a "marker" as TC/HDL.

zip2play

Good post - great info. there :)