Worried about cholesterol levels

[Yoyoyo1]

My total level is 7.37.
HDL 1.35
Tricerlydes 2.64
LDL 4.84

Blood pressure fine
Bmi: 24.2
Age: 48
Vegetarian

They are too high. GP has given me three months to lower them. Aibu to be really worried as never though I'd have high levels. My mum and dad both have/had high cholesterol.

Triglycerides are a bit high as well as total cholesterol, do you drink a lot of alcohol,/eat a lot of high fat foods/eat a lot of cheese/ready meals/processed stuff?

no need to panic, just makes some lifestyle changes, look at your diet and increase exercise for example. If both your mum and dad have high cholesterol then it’s likely because you all have similar learned eating habits. It’s more likely to be a genetic thing if only one of them had high cholesterol and the other one didn’t being as they aren’t blood related.

If it's genetic, then sometimes you can't do anything about it. My DH was advised this by his doctor and is on a very minimal dose of medication now. His doctor also suggested CoQ10 could be useful to take.

At your age, same age I am, changing hormones can also make cholesterol rise. I'm usually okay but my last test was a bit high (6!). I've never been that high. The only reason it was so high was that the good cholesterol had gone up though. The other had gone down. I'll need to recheck soon but I'm very nervous about it. My ratio is good though, so I'm not sure the overall number is a problem. That's something I'd have to talk to the doctor about.

I barely drink, eat relatively healthily and go running.

Same for me. Consider changing hormones as a factor. I don't drink, I'm very active. My diet isn't perfect but it's better than most. My doctor told my DH if it's genetic, sometimes you can't do anything with lifestyle changes. It's worth trying if there's any room for improvement though.

First of all, were your bloods done after you had fasted for 12 hours (plain water only)? If it wasn't a fasting blood sample it is difficult to know what your true levels are. If it was a fasting sample and you don't already have a "heart healthy diet", you could try seeing how you get on by adapting your diet. If you are a bit overweight, it will also make your cholesterol levels higher, so losing weight (if you need to) can improve them. Exercise is important too. If you have already done all that and still have high levels, you will need to go onto a statin. Did you tell your GP that your parents have/had high cholesterol too? Lots of us take statins around your age and onwards. If your GP prescribes a statin, make sure you fasting cholesterol levels are checked again after 6-8 weeks, so you know if the dose has brought them down or if it needs increasing. Don't worry, it is treatable!

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No it wasn't a fasting test. A pinnprick test in Boots. I told gp about my parents.

Sorry, I was still writing my spiel above when you made your second post. I would be inclined to go back to GP, underline the fact that you eat healthily and do all the right things and have a family history and you want to get it medically treated now.( as long as it was indeed a fasting blood sample as my post above). (Med sec with years of cardiac experience.)

First of all, were your bloods done after you had fasted for 12 hours

The blood test no longer needs to be fasting. It hasn’t for a few years.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) now advises that there is no need to fast – indeed, there is some suggestion that a non-fasted test gives a better snapshot of your metabolism than a fasted one. However, there are still situations where your doctor may request a fasting one for a more detailed profile (if you have an abnormal mix of fats, for instance).

Ok. Just read your update. Blood results meaningless as anything you had eaten or drunk in previous 12 hours would have pushed those levels up. Ask your GP for to requeat a fasting lipids blood test then you will know if you really do have high levels.

Three months or what? What’s your Qrisk? https://qrisk.org/. I think statins are only indicated if it’s above 10%. I’m not sure what the gp expects you to do given your weight/diet/exercise are pretty good already - were you given any specific advice?

that said, the doctors kitchen did a podcast about eating for chloresterol fairly recently, may have some info.

I have been working in specialist cardiologist practices (various) for much of my (so far) 46-year career and all of them still do want fasting samples done for lipids(cholesterol levels). I did work for a private GP in the past who always ordered non-fasting (comprehensive general health check) blood tests and then every time the cholesterol levels came back raised, we were told to send those patients back to have the cholesterol redone after fasting. Cardiologists always just ask them to fast when the list of blood tests include cholesterol.

I've been having blood tests every 3 months for nearly 2 years, and I've never been asked to fast before a cholesterol test.

My levels are basically identical to yours and I'm a similar age. My BMI is much higher though. My GP told me they were nothing to worry about 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thanks everyone

Whatever you do, DO NOT let your GP put you on a statin for this.

As some already mentioned, your levels may be just fine for you. Best to look at this in the overall context of your health.