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dr. Just told me....

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Happyhacker
Happyhacker

After BT that I have a 19.5% chance of stroke or heart problems due to my cholesterol values and has recommended statins. I am already taking a min dose aspirin due to a scan of head showing minor ischeama (white matter). Also was told to keep on a Mediterranean diet! I am 68. Be interested in anyone else who is in the same (funeral) boat. Feedback welcome. Thanks

1 like, 23 replies

23 Replies

  • MrsO-UK_Surrey
    MrsO-UK_Surrey Happyhacker

    Posted

    You haven't mentioned how high your cholesterol is, but I hope the statins work for you and your next blood test shows an improvement.  I don't know how doctors can tell that your risk of getting a stroke or heart problems is 19.5% - at least that means that you have an 80.5% chance of NOT getting such problems!
  • Happyhacker
    Happyhacker

    Posted

    well my Values for the blood test were:

    HDL 1.18

    LDL 4.2

    Serum ratio 5.2

    Triglycerides 1.5

    Overall result 6.1

    Dr. Has recommended statin pills but left it to me to decide. She says that they can be taken along with the Asperin.

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey Happyhacker

      Posted

      Well your LDL and overall result is certainly higher than they like to see.  Have you tried tackling it with diet, for instance cutting out all unnecessary fats?
    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey Happyhacker

      Posted

      Try eating plenty of porridge, oily fish (ie Sardines, Salmon, Mackerel etc), Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Beans, Peas, Lentils, Chick Peas and plenty of fresh fruit and veg.  Try and eat reduced fat cheese and other dairy products, therefore avoiding saturated fats, especially red meat.

      A Mediterranean diet is similar to the above but does include pasta.

      Exercise can also prove successful for some people.

      I have been told that a handful of almonds daily can help with cholesterol, and I started having these several weeks ago.  When my cholesterol was first found to be raised some years ago, I was sent to a dietitian and she recommended that I avoid all sugar and refined carbs, and had an olive oil spread.  I did then manage to get my high cholesterol down from just over 7 to 5.9.  It was back up to 7+ a few months ago, so I'm working on it again now.

      Hope that helps.

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      I also meant to add that the Benecol and Flora Pro-active drinks can help to reduce cholesterol due to the plant sterols they contain.   I have tried them but unfortunately they seem to upset my bowel.
    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey derek76

      Posted

      I don't know, Derek, probably because I took my eye off my diet (too many chocs over Christmas!), or perhaps it's somehow connected to the high BP.
    • derek76
      derek76 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      When ordering some blood tests for me recently my GP said 'We won't bother with cholesterol this time' Reading between the lines I think that he knows that there is no chance of ever getting me to ever take another statin:-)
    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey derek76

      Posted

      You and me both, Derek!  I've never taken one, and at my last appointment when my GP reported the cholesterol results, she sheepishly asked "How do you feel about statins" - I guess she knew the answer before I replied following my recent history of side effects from so many different BP pills.
  • Happyhacker
    Happyhacker

    Posted

    Interesting responses,thanks. I have been given Atorvastatin 40mg doses but not started them yet. I have read that the diet alone will only affect chol by about 10% so that would not reduce the 4.2 and 1.5 (above) by enough. Keeping a diet so that it becomes permanent (so no longer an enforced regime) is probably next to impossible (I'll have to develope some masochistic tendencies!). Mind you, I don't eat chocolate and only rarely drink a small amount of beer and am giving up daily cake portions. But I suppose I will have to be tested again in a few months and the Dr. Will know if I have been taking them! Is there a good cholesterol tester on the market?
    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey Happyhacker

      Posted

      Hh, As we aren't medics on here, I think you would be wise to follow your GPs advice in the first instance and see how you get on with the statins. but at the same time try the more Mediterranean diet as well, reducing your saturated fat intake (especially the cake, unfortunately!).

      By the way, it is only the LDL component of your cholesterol that needs to be reduced, not the HDL.  The normal range for LDL is 2.6 to 3.3, whlst the normal range for HDL is 1.20 to 99999.00nmol/L.  I have been told in the past that the higher the HDL against the LDL, the less risk.  So they are more concerned about lowering the LDL.

      I'm sorry I haven't got any experience with home cholesterol testers, but some of the pharmacies in the larger Sainsbury's stores have recently been carrying out free heart tests by appointment which includes cholesterol.  Flora Pro-Active are involved in the scheme so of course you come away with advice to use Flora Pro-Active products (drinks and spreads) plus vouchers.  You can then return some weeks later for a re-test but you pay a very small amount for the second test.  It is a very reliable heart test - I had an NHS cholesterol test a week or so later and the reading was exactly the same.   

    • derek76
      derek76 Happyhacker

      Posted

      Most doctors ask you not to eat for 12/15 prior to a cholesterol check but most hospital web sites say 8/10 hours and others say unlike testing blood glucose fasting does not matter. 

      With a home testing kit you could check to see what difference fasting actually makes:-)  One of the nurses at the medical practice I go to sent me away when I said that I had only fasted for 10 hours.

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey derek76

      Posted

      Derek, within a week of each other, both my Sainsbury's non-fasting heart health check and an NHS fasting test showed a cholesterol reading of 7.1!
    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey derek76

      Posted

      Total Cholesterol; HDL Cholesterol and Cholesterol ratio; BP; Blood Glucose; BMI; Height and Weight.  Questions include whether or not you are a smoker, and whether there is a family history of heart problems.  The results are then fed into a special machine that compares your actual age with your heart age.  They took 3 BP readings with a few minutes between each one.  I don't remember what BP medication I was on but on that particular day my reading was 170/86 (not that bad for me).  My heart age came out 4 years younger than my real age but he told me not to get too excited about that until I reduced my cholesterol!
    • derek76
      derek76 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      There are several web sites like Heartage and QRISK where you can calculate it yourself. The older you are the more it is weighted against you and heartage will not work if you are more than 73.

      One ageist one I once did gave the same answer for my wife and I and she has low BP, low cholesterol and is not T2 and eats lots that I don't. Its not fair!

    • Happyhacker
      Happyhacker derek76

      Posted

      Where does one get these home testing kits? The only ones I see do not seem to give HDL and LDL values only (I assume) an overall chol value. Thanks.
    • derek76
      derek76 Happyhacker

      Posted

      I have PM'd an article to you that I would not be able to post here.
    • derek76
      derek76 Happyhacker

      Posted

      I would PM an article to you but you evidently have not enabled personal messaging.
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