Is my cholesterol bad? Bit confused...

[oberst]

I'm unsure why they tested for this; I had my blood tested as part of my pre op. They said it was to check my red blood count but here we are.

I'm shocked to see the red there; is this suggesting I have high/bad cholesterol?

I am 7st 7 at 5ft 2. I eat healthy, I'm vegetarian. I do now and again have sugar (ice cream if I'm out or sweets at home occasionally) but nothing wild!

Should I raise this with my GP at all?

Family history wise; maternal grandfather had high cholesterol, eventually died after a triple heart bypass. His dad had high cholesterol and my maternal uncle has high cholesterol.

My dad has only just been checked recently and has a medium qrisk score and has been told to attempt to lower via diet first.

it is high (your total cholesterol is 6mmol/l; the bit in red is your ratio of total to good cholesterol, presumably it’s red because it’s higher than the recommended range

I wonder if this is gene related or something else; I'm looking at dietary recommendations and I don't think there's more that I could do really!

Maybe I should see what my GP says.

High cholesterol can run in families, so even if you eat healthily/exercise etc it can still be high. Have you had cholesterol tested before? My test results going back years are in the NHS app so can compare. Might be useful to see if it's a new thing or always been that way.

Mine was high when tested in Feb. Like more than double what it had been previously. I was given the old lifestyle advice (though can't really do regular exercise) and re-test in 6 months. But apparently it's a known thing after covid. If it doesn't come down then potentially they'll give statins.

Worth a chat with the GP @oberst , and good luck with the op

I think a blood test tests everything (regardless of its main focus) which will be why the cholesterol reading is there.
Looks like it might be worth keeping an eye on this if it runs in your family - have a chat to your GP at some point. Good luck with the op.

Hey thank you.

I have never had it tested before! So I have no idea if this is normal for me or not.

My GP wants me to do a fasted test, so I have booked that in. She sent me a leaflet saying diet isn't the only contributing factor but when I opened it, it basically said it was diet, exercise, smoking and drinking. I had told her I'm pretty active (have a wild toddler too!) do not smoke, do not drink and I'm relatively healthy. The only thing I can think of is that I have real butter on my toast in the mornings!! X

Worth getting the fasting test done with your family history. As your family history suggests, many high cholesterol patients have a genetic link, rather than a lifestyle. The one person I know with very high cholesterol is rake thin, super fit, does mountaineering, mountain rescue, walks hundreds of miles a week...... his is entirely genetic and he takes statins.

5.0 is not a high reading, but keep on top of it.

Just to avoid any confusion OP - the total cholesterol reading is 6, not 5.

I had high cholesterol and now take statins that have brought it down. Initially I tried to bring it down with diet cuttin g out dairy and red meat. No effect on cholesterol BUT I ended up with low calcium and have oestopenia. I was not warned of this effect of low fat diet.

@Lighttodark and I'm guessing it's high? Ahh. We shall see what my fasted test comes back as.

Yes, general guidance is anything above 5 is high

OP did you get any further advice on this? I've just come across your post after searching about high cholesterol.
I've just had my 40 year old NHS health check which included a full blood test and came back with high cholesterol.
Like you my diet is pretty good, the odd sweet treat occasionally but limited takeaways, don't smoke or drink, bmi lower side of average and physically active.
I'm waiting for an appointment with clinical pharmacist but have been worrying about this since I got the results back.
My dad had a stroke a few months ago, although he is 76, slightly overweight, inactive and has VF, despite this I'm worried the same might happen!

Hello!

I actually went away for a couple of weeks but had my fasted blood test yesterday.

I haven't got the results back yet! I'll let you know though.

@oberst how were your last results? Was it different levels fasted?

Hello, I'm OP. Yes they were fine fasted!

That's wonderful news! Thanks for the fast reply!

Fat in the diet is not the cause of cholesterol. Our bodies are designed to process saturated fats. Our own fat is animal fat. We manufacture the cholesterol that builds up in our bodies, it is generally a response to high carbs. A low fat diet can help because a large part of the carbs we eat are in the form of ultra processed foods, biscuits, cakes, pastry which are also high fat. So if you reduce the high fat you automatically reduce the high carb.
Try to eat a balanced diet, but cut out unnecessary carbs.
My cholesterol was always a bit high when I was younger but GP said that while I was premenopausal the oestrogen tends to protect you. I’m now post menopausal and take Anastrazole ( breast cancer) which does encourage cholesterol to increase. It wasn’t a massive increase but research suggests that statins help stop cancer cells growing so is being trial as an adjunct drug ( preventive) in patients like me who want to prevent the cancer returning. The fact it has also brought my cholesterol down is a bonus.
I think taking magnesium also reduces cholesterol but not in everyone. I saw a decrease in my levels over six months, before I started taking statins.