Isn't your "Ratio" more important than your # ?? - High Cholesterol Message Board

my4sons · 04-23-2003, 12:32 PM

Ok, I am just 36 years old, I had a Cholesterol test last year, my # was HIGH --269, My HDL was 79 and LDL was normal, can't remember now. And my ratio was decent 4.? . Then I dieted for awhile, really CUT out the fat, it was a miserable experience eating. I took another test, My # was 199, my HDL went down to 46 !! and my LDL was decent again, (My Tri's were always good too). But my Ratio WAS WORSE!! So it seems - for me, it was better to have the HIGH # and eat what I always ate since it gave me a better ratio. There must be some truth to Low Fat diets causeing your HDL to get worse. My Husband Also got his # down and his HDL also went down a little (not as much as me though!). Very strange. WHY isn't these kinds of things talked about more when Cholesterol is discussesd?? Anyone else have this kind of experience? (Neither of us have started any drug therapy yet, I am pregnant right now, neither of us has parents or relatives who died "young", and they all seem to have High Cholestoral also, a few of them take the Lipator, & his Dad refuses he is now over 70. I guess this is Geneitc- but it never seemed to have affected anyone's health as far as young Heartattacks- so far. Are these drugs REALLY necessary? I hate the idea of starting them before the age of 45 anayway.

ARIZONA73 · 04-23-2003, 08:50 PM

I understand your concern. While it is true that low-fat diets lower total cholesterol, they also have the tendency to lower HDL as well. Your total cholesterol has dropped by 26%, but your HDL has also dropped by 42%. So now it would seem that you are caught between a rock and a hard place. Your TC/HDL ratio has gone from 3.4 to 4.3. Are you now better off? Well, the truth is, I'm not really sure. Personally, I would not feel too comfortable sacrificing that much in the way of HDL. Nevertheless, the general consensus appears to be that the higher your total cholesterol, the more important your ratio becomes. As a matter of fact, it has been speculated that, according to the Framingham Heart Study, if your total cholesterol level is below 180, then you need not be concerned about ratios or a low HDL. Now, these are only statistical averages, and I'm not so sure that I would agree with this conclusion, especially since it is a well known fact that people with low total cholesterol levels do in fact suffer from and succumb to heart disease. Although I do not know what your LDL and triglyceride levels are, I am assuming from what you said that heart disease has not been much of a factor in your family history. With either set of numbers, you may be no better or worse off either way. In any case, I would stay away from the drugs.