What High Cholesterol Blood Tests Mean & How to Help Prevent High Cholesterol
According to the American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org), in addition to the fact that one out of every two persons will die of heart disease, over 70 million Americans currently have some type of heart disease. (Note: This does not include the tens of millions of people who are in the process of developing heart disease in coming years). The cost of treating heart disease (also know as cardiovascular disease, or CVD), in both direct and indirect costs is estimated to be over $400 billion annually.
Cardiovascular disease results in reduced quality of life, and an enormous cost to both society and taxpayers is avoidable, if only individuals would begin to take more responsibility to prevent heart disease through healthy eating and better lifestyle habits and regular doctor approved exercise. In addition you should consider including the proper use of nutritional supplements such as taking a high quality daily multi-vitamin and getting enough daily Essential Fatty Acids from eating healthy wild Salmon fish (non farmed raised), at least 2 to 3 times weekly and or taking quality fish oil supplements. There are also high quality nutritional supplements and natural enzymes that can help support better circulatory health. (see below)
About Cholesterol
Although, inflammation occurring in the body and high Homocysteine and C-Reactive Protein levels are still your most important tests to determine if you are a likely candidate for a heart attack, (see next week’s blog on those two issues), if your cholesterol is exceedingly high, usually being listed as over 240 mg, then generally those levels should be reduced to a more moderate 200 mg or less level. Remember, cholesterol is necessary for the body and brain to function well and studies have shown that reducing your cholesterol levels too low (less than 160 mg), can actually help shorten your life.
When you visit your doctor for your annual exam, he or she will most likely do a simple blood test to check your cholesterol levels. Do you know what the numbers mean?
First, it must be generally be understood that cholesterol usually can’t be dissolved in the blood, however, certain supplements and natural digestive enzymes: (nattokinase, bromelain), fish oiI, garlic and lecithin may help. (Also, a product called Circulatory Support mentioned at the end may be of aid). Cholesterol generally has to be transported to and from the cells by carriers called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is known as “bad” cholesterol. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as “good” cholesterol. These two types of lipids, along with triglycerides, make up your total cholesterol count.
LDL (Bad) Cholesterol
When too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances, it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, heart attack or stroke can result.
HDL (good) Cholesterol
About one-fourth to one-third of blood cholesterol is carried by high-density lipoprotein (HDL). HDL cholesterol is known as “good” cholesterol, because high levels of HDL seem to protect against heart attack. Low levels of HDL (less than 40 mg/dL) also increase the risk of heart disease.
Triglycerides
Triglyceride is a form of fat made in the body. Many people with heart disease and/or diabetes also have high triglyceride levels.
Here are some guidelines from the American Heart Association:
Your Total Blood (or Serum) Cholesterol Level
Less than 200 mg/dL: Desirable
If your LDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels are also at desirable levels and you have no other risk factors for heart disease, total blood cholesterol below 200 mg/dL puts you at relatively low risk of coronary heart disease. Even with a low risk, however, it’s still smart to eat a heart-healthy diet, get regular physical activity and avoid tobacco smoke.
200-239 mg/dL: Borderline-High Risk
If your total cholesterol falls between 200 and 239 mg/dL, your doctor will evaluate your levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and triglycerides. It’s possible to have borderline-high total cholesterol numbers with normal levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol balanced by high HDL (good) cholesterol.
240 mg/dL and over: High Risk
People who have a total cholesterol level of 240 mg/dL or more typically have twice the risk of coronary heart disease as people whose cholesterol level is desirable (200 mg/dL).
Your LDL (Bad) Cholesterol Level
The lower your LDL cholesterol, the lower your risk of heart attack and stroke. In fact, it’s a better gauge of risk than total blood cholesterol. In general, LDL levels fall into these categories:
LDL Cholesterol Levels
Less than 100 mg/dL Optimal
100 to 129 mg/dL Near Optimal/ Above Optimal
130 to 159 mg/dL Borderline High
160 to 189 mg/dL High
190 mg/dL and above Very High
Your HDL (Good) Cholesterol Level
With HDL (good) cholesterol, higher levels are better. Low HDL cholesterol (less than 40 mg/dL for men, less than 50 mg/dL for women) puts you at higher risk for heart disease.
Smoking, being overweight, and being sedentary can all result in lower HDL cholesterol. To raise your HDL level, avoid tobacco smoke, maintain a healthy weight and get at least 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity more days than not.
People with high blood triglycerides usually also have lower HDL cholesterol and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.
Your Triglyceride Level
Triglyceride is a form of fat. People with high triglycerides often have a high total cholesterol level, including high LDL (bad) cholesterol and low HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
Your triglyceride level will fall into one of these categories:
• Normal: less than 150 mg/dL
• Borderline-High: 150-199 mg/dL
• High: 200-499 mg/dL
• Very High: 500 mg/dL
Many people have high triglyceride levels due to being overweight/obese, physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, excess alcohol consumption, and/or a diet very high in carbohydrates (60 percent of more of calories).
To help lower cholesterol: eat and live a healthy lifestyle, get regular exercise and work with a knowledgeable nutritionally informed doctor. Also, consider taking a daily quality multi-vitamin and fish oil supplement. Additionally, I have discovered that two excellent circulatory support products are: Circulatory Support and CoQ10 Supreme which are also all part of a 4 product comprehensive Cardio Health Support Package available at http://www.doctorgreens.com Here’s to your better health, Hal Decker
9 Responses to “What High Cholesterol Blood Tests Mean & How to Help Prevent High Cholesterol”
Leave a Reply
Designed by Healthcare Guides | Healthcare Advisor | Business Intelligence
It sounds like you're doing everything basically right, so it's hard to say why you're still having the issues without being able to run tests.
June 11th, 2010 at 4:50 amMy best advice would have been to take probiotics, grapefruit seed extract, and many of the things you are doing now, so I would consult a Naturopathic doctor so they can run tests to investigate and see why you are having these issues still. Good luck and I hope I helped!
I am not a doctor, but was a care giver of 20 yrs. I do want to say that the fact that you have kept record of your triglycerides and bilirubin is admirable! It shows that you are intelligent and not panicy, stoic or apathetic to your situation.
In answer to your question … very simple actually. Call your doctor's office and ask the head nurse that question. You will get a quick and factual answer that will only take a second or two.
Keep up the good work!
June 11th, 2010 at 5:00 amBlood pressure is given in two number, like "115 over 80" (115/80).
The TOP number indicates how hard your heart is pushing blood when it squeezes.
the BOTTOM number shows how hard your heart is working when it is "at rest".
if your arteries are clogged up with cholesterol, or if you smoke, then it takes more pressure to push the blood through the arteries and veins, so the numbers go up.
What is REALLY important is the bottom number. If that number is high (like more than 90) your heart is not getting a good rest between beats. That means your heeart is going to get tired soon — and that means a heart attack.
Sometimes, arteries have little weak spots in them called ANEURISMS. If that top number is too high the aneurism might break. This wiil be painful, but if it is in your brain it is called a stroke.
"Good" numbers vary from about 100/65 to about 120/80. If the numbers are higher than this, you have high blood pressure and are in danger of a heart attack or stroke. If your numbers are lower than this, you are in danger of getting dizzy and passing out.
High blood pressure can be prevented!
The most important thing to do is maintain a healthy diet. Humans need ALL kinds of foods, including fish, red meats, eggs, and vegetables. you need to see a NUTRITIONIST to recommend a good, healthy diet. You just don't need a LOT of any one thing. A hamburger one a week is good for you! Hamburgers 5 days a week is not.
The second thing is exercise. Regular exercise (like running or swimmig or riding a bike) make the heart stronger, and makes it less susceptible heart attacks. Exercise ALSo help your body use excess bloodsuagr, adn so keeps youf rom being a diabetic.
You need to also avoid becoming overweight, but if you eat a proper diet and get good amounts of exercise, that won't be a problem.
You ALSO need to be sure that you do not become diabetic. Diabetes causes high blood pressure AND high cholesterol. But Diabetes can ALSO be prevented by eating properly nutritious meals and getting plenty of exercise.
June 11th, 2010 at 3:20 pmyour cholesterol levels are from two things, your genes and your diet.
June 12th, 2010 at 3:04 pmgenetic hyperlipidemia is treated with medications. However, at 17 it is not uncommon to have higher than usual levels of cholesterol because the body uses it for growth factors, something your doctor should also have told you. Recheck your cholesterol when you are 21, that will give you a more accurate picture of your real values.
The doctor does more testing than just the
liver enzymes to see if there is a problem
with the liver.
The liver enzymes are the ALT,AST,GGT,
and Alkaline Phosphatase. They can show
possible liver cells damage. However, so
many things can effect these tests results
like muscle injury, intramuscular injections,
and even exercising before the test is done.
The doctor also checks for the liver
function tests: These are the Bilirubin, INR,
Albumin, PT, PTT. These will show how well
the cells of the liver are able to do the functions
needed to keep the body well.
Your liver enzymes are only slightly elevated.
It will take more blood testing and maybe an
Ultrasound or Ct scan to see what maybe taking
place with your liver.
If the liver cells become damaged, the immune
system of the body would respond to this and
cause inflammation to develop inside the liver.
That would cause the liver to enlarge in size.
The doctor would be able to see any enlargement
with an ultrasound/ct scan and also see how well
the blood is flowing through the liver.
If the cause of the damage is stopped and the
inflammation is treated…many times the liver
cells can heal.
When a patient develops a virus, like Hepatitis A,B,C,
this virus goes to the liver and uses the liver cells to
replicate itself. As it uses the liver cells for this, it
will cause the cell to die and then it moves onto the
next liver cell to continue the process. When testing
for Hepatitis C, it may not show up right away on blood
tests results. You would need to be tested again to be
sure you are still negative.
Some people can be infected and be carriers of the
virus…meaning they don't develop liver problems but
can pass it on to someone else. Hepatitis C is not
usually transmitted through intercourse unless the
mucosal barrier is broken…they suggest to always use
condoms. It is not transmitted through sneezing, coughing,
hugging, contaminated food or water, or casual contact.
If the liver cells have died off, where the blood doesn't
flow well through the liver, it would cause the spleen
to enlarge in size because of the backed up blood going
back into the spleen. This could cause low platelets.
But there may be other causes of this, unrelated to the
liver…like the bone marrow not producing enough
platelets.
There is also fatty liver disease: this can come from
alcohol consumption which causes fat to develop inside
the liver, weight gain, and high cholesterol/triglyceride levels.
Fat infiltation inside the liver,can cause liver cell damage.
Our bodies have different types of cells. When it concerns
the Hemocrit and Hemoglobin…it is referring to the Red
blood cells that carries the oxygen, from our lungs,
throughout the body on an iron (heme).
This iron is known as hemoglobin. That means your
red blood cells has more than enough iron that the oxygen
molecule attaches to. Hemocrit is the amount (percent)
of Red Blood cells that were in the sample of blood you
gave. The blood also contains plasma, platelets, and
White blood cells.
Please remember that blood tests are just a "hint"
of something being wrong. They are not 100% accurate.
It takes more of them and a comparison to give a
better picture of it and then proceed to other
types of testing (film) to confirm it. The very best
test to check the liver is a liver biopsy and they don't
normally do this tests unless it is determined to be
necessary as it is invasive.
I hope this information has been of some help to you.
June 12th, 2010 at 8:33 pmBest wishes
Actually your cholesterol values are not bad at all. Cholesterol levels are determined by genetic and environmental factors. Knowing that you have a family history of high cholesterol increases your risk of having it slightly, but remember there are multiple factors involved besides family history. Cholesterol results should always be interpreted with the person's medical history and risk factors for heart disease in mind. I am assuming you are otherwise healthy besides what you already mentioned, but if I am incorrect please let me know. Normal values for total cholesterol is less than 200. Your total cholesterol is slightly high, but nothing to worry about for reasons I will mention later. Total cholesterol is not as important as the breakdown into good (HDL) cholesterol and bad (LDL) cholesterol. Elevated bad cholesterol and low good cholesterol is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and this is why they are erroneously referred to as "good" and "bad." Bad cholesterol in someone without risk factors for heart disease should be less than 160. Therefore your value of 136 is perfectly normal. Good cholesterol should be greater than 45 and the higher the better. A value of 72 for good cholesterol is excellent. Therefore your cholesterol valvues are pretty good.
A blood pressure of 130/90 is in the pre-high blood pressure range. You are at increased risk for high blood pressure in the future, but there are things you can do to keep your blood pressure down. . This includes modification of the diet including decreasing salt, cholesterol and saturated fats and increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables. The DASH diet is associated with the greatest reduction in blood pressure and you can search it if you are interested. Also, regular exercise 5 times weekly for at least 1 hour can help lower blood pressure. Excess alcohol consumption can increase blood pressure; therefore you should not consume more than 2 alcoholic beverages daily if you are male or 1 drink daily if you are female.
June 13th, 2010 at 7:10 pmThe liver tests and the blood count abnormalities are strongly suggestive of liver disesae. Many thing cause this includinf alcohol, fatty liver and other diseases. Does he drink and is he overweight?
June 13th, 2010 at 11:20 pmjust cos ur thin doesnt excluded u from high cholestrol risk, with all the junk food u eat.
June 14th, 2010 at 2:46 amRyan,
If you just listen to the 'experts', you would think that cholesterol is an evil substance and that most of us would benefit from lowering our cholesterol as low as possible. But it is not so. Cholesterol is a vitally important substance which is used for building our cell membranes and producing several of our hormones. The natural question arising from this is – Why a natural substance in our blood, with important biological functions, is called “bad” when it is transported from the place of manufacture in the liver to the peripheral tissues by LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein), but is called “good” when it is transported back to the liver, for replenishment or removal, by HDL (High Density Lipoprotein). If our cholesterol level drops too low, we are actually at increased risk for depression and suicide. Low cholesterol levels have been shown to worsen the condition of patients with congestive heart failure. Statin drugs are often prescribed to lower our cholesterol level. These drugs actually inhibit a vital enzyme that manufactures cholesterol in the liver. However the same enzyme is used to manufacture coenzyme Q10, which is a biochemical required to transfer energy from food to our cells. Thus statin drugs inhibit the very important production of coenzyme Q10. It has never been conclusively proved that lowering cholesterol saves lives. Disclaimers from the drug companies about their statin drugs show the side effects are very dangerous.
So it would be wise to stop trying to change cholesterol, studies conclusively prove beyond doubt that cholesterol does not cause heart disease and it will not stop a heart attack. The majority of people who suffer heart attacks have normal cholesterol levels.
ALL ANSWERS SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED, IN ANY FORUM AND ESPECIALLY IN THIS ONE. – MANY ANSWERS ARE FLAWED.
It is extremely important to obtain an accurate diagnosis before trying to find a cure. Many diseases and conditions share common symptoms.
The information provided here should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.
I add links with details of this subject
http://www.cholesterolwarning.com/
?gclid=CLfB0Kn4xY8CFSOZEAodeSMuxg
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/
articles/archive/2009/06/06/Tips
-to-Lower-Cholesterol-Naturally.aspx
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/
Cholesterol-Myths.html
http://www.ravnskov.nu/
cholesterol.html
http://www.oralchelation.net/
heartdisease/ChapterFive/page5.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com/025849.html
Hope this helps
June 14th, 2010 at 3:38 pmmatador 89