Naturally high cholesterol levels

[MoshiMoshi]

Following the recent sudden death of my father from a heart attack (the PM determined he had a pericardial tamponade due to coronary atherosclerosis ie furred arteries), I recently had my cholesterol levels tested. I am a teetotal, non-smoking keen runner and all round pretty active person of normal weight (5'3" and around 8-8.5 stone) and had expected a normal reading so was somewhat taken aback to receive a borderline high reading. I oscillate between blind panic that I am going to have a massiev heart attack myself to feeling like it is not a problem for me as I am female and fairly active.

The more I read the more confused I become so I was wondering if anybody could let me know what the perceived wisdom is on these things? I have decided to cut out all chocolate and sweet stuff and keep to a low fat, although not a vegan diet, to see if this helps.

Thanks for any responses.

Massive even...

When you say borderline high, do you mean hovering near the 5 mark? Also, do you know the LDL: HDL ratio? One is "good cholesterol" and the other is "bad cholesterol". Relatively high levels of the former are not , I think, generally considered a problem as they actually help protect you from heart disease.

And where did you get the test done? Did you not get any follow up advice? I would have thought that a GP, particularly, would have provided this. They should also have told you if they suspected any risk of what I think is called familial high cholesterol, which is where your levels are very high (over 5, I'm sure), regardless of your age, sex or diet. AFAIK it can be controlled only with statins.

Like you, I got my cholesterol levels tested after my father died of a massive heart attack. At the time I was in my late 20s, very slim, pretty active and ate a veggie diet, albeit with a fair bit of cheese and chocolate. My cholesterol level came back as 4.9 IIRC but the GP was unconcerned because by far the greater proportion of that was attributable to "good cholesterol". Nevertheless, I decided to cut down on the sat fats and up the good fats (avocados, olive oil etc) - figured it couldn't hurt. And I plan on getting my cholesterol levels tested every few years just keep an eye on it. Usually, before the menopause women are relatively protected by their hormones from the effects of cholesterol but that isn't always the case.

Thanks Sariska. The LDL reading which I think is the bad one was 3.5 and the total reading was 5.5. The good cholesterol reading, for HDL, was not high unfortunately. The nurse said to try focusing on diet although I am quite a healthy eater in any case. But I am now mostly avoiding things like cheese and salami whereas I would have eaten these two or three times a week. I have swapped the butter for Olivio spread and am also going to eat less meat, maybe red meat just once a week and more fish than white meat which is my preference anyway (carnivorous husband tends to stop this happening as I am sure is common). She did wonder whether my extraordinary consumption of chocolate following dad's death at Christmas might have had am effect as I definitely ate quite a lot of it by way of self medicating. Time will tell I suppose when I get re-tested following the diet changes. Thanks for posting. If there is no change I think I will be on the statins as you say.

is 5.5 really borderline high?

mine was much higher than that and no-one seemed that bothered other than me ;-) though I did get a few dietary tips (and I have a father with extremely high cholesterol...I forget what it's called, something like hypercholesterolaemia)

in my experience of high cholesterol (so I am by NO WAY medical), I would get it monitored fairly regularly (for your own peace of mind as much as anything else - say every year/couple of years).

From what I remember, cutting down saturated fat and trans fats most important (so red meat, dairy etc.). But when it's hereditary, there does seem to be a threshold below which it will not cross. As long as you are doing every thing else, then that's as much as you can do (before medication).

sorry about the loss of your father. I agree with Sariska about cutting down on saturated fats and upping the good unsaturated fats - e.g plenty of oily fish, avocado, spinach etc. www.heartuk.org.uk is the main uk charity re:cholesterol, there is also useful info on the british heart foundation page. Hopefully cutting the chocolate will make a difference, but sometimes diet only plays a limited role, and statins may also be needed. My total cholesterol virtually halved within a month of starting statins and dieting, statins can work v. quickly, and touch wood I have been taking them for 4 months with no side effects.

and sorry for the loss of your father too

Thank you thank you for some super sage advice. And for the condolences too. Will go Mediterranean with the diet and try to not think about it for now.