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What Causes High Cholesterol Levels?
Question: I am 5 feet 8 inches and weigh 125 pounds. I just was told by my doctor that my cholesterol is 298. My LDL is 178. I am very active physically. Should I take a medication? I do not want to get on statin medications if I can avoid it. I am not on any medications. I am 59 years old.
Brief Answer:
may be best to use
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
High cholesterol values can be due to lifestyle issues , inherited family traits or a combination of both.
In some cases, despite a healthy lifestyle, because of inherited risk, the cholesterol is high.
Both your total cholesterol and your LDL are high.
Normally when determining whether a person needs medication the following are considered: (1) look for any evidence that the person has atherosclerotic disease (cholesterol plaques in blood vessels) that means they have a high risk of heart disease
This includes conditions such as: diabetes, symptoms of heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, anerysm (dilation of blood vessel) of the aorta
IF any of these are present then the LDL goal is less than 100.
If you have any of these , then your LDL is high above goal and treatment is advised
(2)after identifying if any of these are present then need to look for risk factors. These are factors that increase the chance of heart disease.
They include: (a)history of smoking
(b)history of high blood pressure
(c)low HDL of less than 40
(d)family history of persons with early heart or blood vessel disease(male family member less than 55 and a female less than 65)
(e)age- for a female- age greater than 55 is a risk factor
If you have 2 or more of these then your LDL should be less than 130
If you have only one of these then your LDL should be less than 160.
Your LDL is higher than any of these ranges, even if you have only 1 risk factor.
It is often difficult to start any medication particularly when you have never been on any but you can see from the above that your level is far where it should be.
It may be the idea of being on meds or the possible side effects but it is important to remember most person do not experience side effects only the benefits of having reduced cholesterol.
If you have any side effects then your doctor can change the medication. The effects , if they occur, are temporary and cease when medication is stopped.
With a family history of strokes then reducing your cholesterol levels would mean that you would reduce the chance of this happening to you. You would have seen the effects on your family members.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
may be best to use
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
High cholesterol values can be due to lifestyle issues , inherited family traits or a combination of both.
In some cases, despite a healthy lifestyle, because of inherited risk, the cholesterol is high.
Both your total cholesterol and your LDL are high.
Normally when determining whether a person needs medication the following are considered: (1) look for any evidence that the person has atherosclerotic disease (cholesterol plaques in blood vessels) that means they have a high risk of heart disease
This includes conditions such as: diabetes, symptoms of heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, anerysm (dilation of blood vessel) of the aorta
IF any of these are present then the LDL goal is less than 100.
If you have any of these , then your LDL is high above goal and treatment is advised
(2)after identifying if any of these are present then need to look for risk factors. These are factors that increase the chance of heart disease.
They include: (a)history of smoking
(b)history of high blood pressure
(c)low HDL of less than 40
(d)family history of persons with early heart or blood vessel disease(male family member less than 55 and a female less than 65)
(e)age- for a female- age greater than 55 is a risk factor
If you have 2 or more of these then your LDL should be less than 130
If you have only one of these then your LDL should be less than 160.
Your LDL is higher than any of these ranges, even if you have only 1 risk factor.
It is often difficult to start any medication particularly when you have never been on any but you can see from the above that your level is far where it should be.
It may be the idea of being on meds or the possible side effects but it is important to remember most person do not experience side effects only the benefits of having reduced cholesterol.
If you have any side effects then your doctor can change the medication. The effects , if they occur, are temporary and cease when medication is stopped.
With a family history of strokes then reducing your cholesterol levels would mean that you would reduce the chance of this happening to you. You would have seen the effects on your family members.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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