Hello there. My husband is 29 years old and went for a annual physical and was suprised when the doctor called a few days later.
His Total Cholestrol was 185
LDL was 102
Trigl was 330
HDL was 16
VLDL was 66 (dont know what this is)
and she said his ratio was 11.5 ( I think)

Doctor said they all were high but was more concerned about his HDL level at 16 and his TRI and VLDL. He told him to eat better, excercise (he is healthy) not over weight, and he is taking some type of pill that is suppose to bring down his LDL and bring up his HDL.

Anyone have any advice?? He has a high family hereditary clogged artery's. Does this co-inside with cholestrol?? Has anyone you known ever had this low of a HDL?? I have searched for people having this low of an HDL.

Any comments of what might be going on his body please let me know.
Medical Conditions???

We lost his mother last year at the age of 45 to pancreatis cancer so you can see my concern!
Thank you!

well my hdl is 24 and my trigs are the same as his.My doctor told me to exercise more to bring up the hdl and to eat more fish and stuff like that that.That Ldl number of his is in the normal range its a good number.He also told me that this stuff is indeed hereditary.I take 40mg zocor daily and do what I can do.There are people here with some great advice,more than I can give.I started taking "flax-seed oil" also its supposed to be great for cholestorol,even though I only need to lose about 20lbs,I am also cutting out most carbs.Niacin ,I have been told is great to take too.Good luck to him !

You can improve that triglyceride number greatly by avoiding alcohol and sugar. Increased exercise will also lower it; but it responds primarily to diet; refined sugar and booze.

HDL can be increased by quitting smoking if you do and by avoiding second hand smoke. Eating fatty fish rich in EFA's can also help raise HDL, as can cardiovascular exercise to the tune of 1200 calories a week. Consumption of red wine in moderation (a few glasses a week) can also help raise HDL.

HTH
Nat

Thank you for advice - he does smoke -I told him he should quit. What is this VLDL? Also is there a number too low for the HDL? I haven't seen a lower number than his.

My husband's HDL was lower. About 10 years ago it was 8. All his other numbers were good. He has been on 10 mg Lipitor for many years and it is now 28. He did get his lipoprotein(a) checked recently and it was 17, which is pretty good, so I don't worry as much about the low HDL. His homocysteine and CRP were good too. He has always gotten a lot of exercise and does take folic acid--I can't get him to take fish oil. You might want to check your husband's. You can lower the trigs by cutting carbohydrates, not just sugar.

VLDL is very low density lipoprotein and it is desirable that the number be under 30.

Wow your husbands HDL is low. Is he healthy? What are the health concerns? Any?

He is very healthy and very active. He plays tennis five times a week and softball twice a week. He is 70, quite thin and has great looking legs. His HDL is up to 28 now because of the Lipitor, so I think your husband's will see a good increase also if he is taking a statin. My son also has HDL of about 28 and he is a competitive runner. I guess it is genetic.

The high triglycerides with a low HDL is concerning. Is he consuming a lot of refined sugars or alcholic beverages? His trigs and low HDL can definitely be inherited. My brother and I both have had low HDL. My brother can't seem to get his above 25 no matter what he does. My HDL was 32 when it was discovered I had a heart blockage. My trigs were 183 so you can see that the numbers don't have to be way out of line to cause problems with plaque in the arteries. My total cholesterol was 193 at the time and my LDL was about 130. The one thing that I've found best for raising HDL is exercise. I've tried flax seed oil, fish oil, almonds, red wine, niacin and blueberries. I've now got my HDL up to 46 and I believe it is totally due to exercise. It is extremely important that your husband give up the cigarettes. It lowers your HDL and constricts the arteries. Pancreatic cancer is more common in men who smoke. If he can't do it alone Zyban might be helpful. Another name for Zyban is Wellbutrin. At a risk ratio of 11 he is more than 2X as likely to have a coronary event. The risk ratio should be below 4. As far as the VLDL there are small LDL and big fluffy LDL. You want the big fluffy ones. I honestly can't remember what the VLDL should be. He needs to take this very seriously especially since heart disease runs in his family.

Also is there a number too low for the HDL? I haven't seen a lower number than his. I believe they have the cut off for HDL at 35-40, as in lower than that increases your risk of CVD. Higher than 60 is considered protective against CVD.

Nat

Thank you for advice - he does smoke -I told him he should quit. Here's a little info that might convince him it's a good idea. Smoking is known to lower HDL by about 6 mg/100ml for women and 4 mg/100ml for men. Stopping smoking and gaining the benefit of a 6 mh/100ml rise in HDL corresponds to an 18% reduction in cardiac risk, ie heart attack, angioplasty or bypass. (This is from research based on the Framingham Offspring Study.)

In practice the risk is reduced even more because there are other beneficial affects to stopping smoking. In particular it is well known that smoking brings about the oxidation of LDL. Oxidised LDL is the small dense nasty stuff that gets into the artery walls. So by quitting your HDL rises and your LDL is lowered, a win/win situation.

Cheers,
Nat

For gophoerhead

In an earlier post in this thread you stated that refined sugar and booze can be the causes of low HDL. Then in a later paragraph you say that red wine consumption is said to raise HDL. I guess I consider wine of any color as "booze" but perhaps there is a difference here? Could you comment?

Thanks,
T.W.

For gophoerhead

In an earlier post in this thread you stated that refined sugar and booze can be the causes of low HDL. Then in a later paragraph you say that red wine consumption is said to raise HDL. I guess I consider wine of any color as "booze" but perhaps there is a difference here? Could you comment?

Thanks,
T.W.

I'm not gopherhead but it's the grapes that make the difference. Some people just take grape seed extract instead of drinking the red wine. Red wine also may not be a good idea for those taking statins. Also the amount of red wine is I believe a 2 oz. serving per day. That's not alot of alcohol.

Thank you all for your replies. This really helps!

Thanks NineLives - I forgot to check in this thread for any replies :o

I was thinking the same thing, tobias, about 'booze' and 'wine', but I just didn't put two and two together and clear that up. "Booze" to me was hard liquor, in particular the sugary ones like rhum. And as NineLives posted, the amount of wine is quite 'small' by typical standards. It works out to 2 or 3 glasses a week.

From personal experience I can state that when my father switched from drinking rhum and diet cokes (after a trip down south where he picked up the habit) to having a small glass of red wine a day his HDL rose and his triglycerides fell, bringing his total cholesterol down almost 25% in 3 months.

Nat