High Cholesterol

[gav22]

Hi.

I have recently been told that I have high Cholesterol (8.0 in the UK).

My Grandfather, died aged 55 of a heart attack, my one uncle has had a triple heart bypass aged 61 and another uncle has had heart surgery aged 54.

There is a history of high Cholesterol in my Fathers family and most of them are on medication to lower there Cholesterol.

I have read conflicting advice regarding "being able to lower Cholesterol naturally".

Some people seem to think it is impossible, whereas other say that taking medication is the lazy way out.

My Father has been for a heart test today and spoke to the specialist.

He stated that I should go on the medication ASAP. I will not lower my Cholesterol by a significant enough number for it to be of any benefit.

I am 32 and have kept pretty active throughout my life, but have let myself go over the last few years. My diet has not been very good and I have cut down to almost no card and just concentrated on my strength training.

I have about 30 lbs that I have to lose, which I am in the process of doing. I have joined a body composition competition 5 weeks ago that last for a total of 6 months.

I have increased my exercise (including card) and my diet has changed drastically.

I would like to have a chance to lower my Cholesterol naturally, but I'm concerned that I am causing more damage if I do not start taking the medication straight away.

Any advice would be really helpful.

Many thanks.

[RadioAstronomyObserver]

I was younger than you when I first noticed my heart problems.  I wish I had done something about it back then because it only got worse as time went on.  Either way, although you are young, it has become common place for the young to have heart problems.

[erijon]

I do understand your concern about starting on a statin ata young age, which is why I would try harder with some life style changes. I work out 6-8 hours per week at 80-85% of my max heart rate, that's how I measure my exercise level. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of your risks with Statin therapy;

Results
What follows is a brief description of the results, limited to statins (simvastatin, atorvastatin, pravastatin) other than cerivastatin, and omitting discussion of fibrates.


Rhabdomyolysis
Cohort studies indicate a rate of 3.4 (1.6 to 6.5)/100,000 person years (1 in 29,000 per year) from cohort studies, supported by RCTs and notifications. Mortality with rhabdomyolysis is about 10%, giving a statin-specific death rate of about 1 in 300,000 per year. This is about 15 times less likely than dying in a car accident in a year.

Myopathy
Statin-specific myopathy from cohort studies, supported by RCTs was about 11 (4-27)/100,000 person years, a rate of 1 in 9,100 per year. It is reversible on stopping statin.

Minor muscle pain
This was no more common with statin than with placebo in RCTs, but was common, at about 5,000/100,000 person years with statin and placebo. This complaint affected about 1 in 20 of the population in the trials, irrespective of therapy.

Liver failure
The estimated risk of liver failure of someone taking statins was 0.5 per 100,000 person years, or 1 in 200,000 per year. This is about the same as people not taking statins.

Stroke
Stroke was no more common in people taking statins as not, though the rate of haemorrhagic stroke may have been higher. The advice was not to use cholesterol-lowering drugs in people who had had a haemorrhagic stroke.

Peripheral neuropathy
Cohort studies and RCTs indicated higher rates of reversible peripheral neuropathy with statins, with a statin-specific risk of about 12/100,000 person years, or a rate in 1 in 8,300 per year.

Cognitive function
No greater decline in cognitive function with statin than not.

Take some time and educate yourself on meds, then you can make your decision.

Hope this helpds,

Jon

[gav22]

Thanks very much both for your advice.

RadioAstronomyObserver.

I don't enter competitions. I may have misinformed you. I haven't done much card over the last few years or so and decided to concentrate on strength/weight training.

The competition I referred to is something I have recently done due to me having to get my health and fitness back on track.

erijon.

I am 32 and perform over 5 hours per week of various  exercise.

I have changed my diet and am hoping that this will sort out my Cholesterol.

My concern about taking the meeds is that I am starting at a young age and could end up damaging other organs long term.

Many thanks.

[erijon]

I have to agree, I would definitely try to lower it with diet and exercise first before I gave into meds. However, you have one of the most important risk factor that you can not modify, a strong family history of heart disease. You don't state your age, but if you're 30 or so I would explore life style changes for a few months first. Your exercise regime needs to be every day for a min of 30 minutes per day at a moderate level. This will help increase your good cholesterol levels as well. Then get your diet in line, cut out the bad fats and empty carbs like pastas, breads and sugars. Also, if you drink stop. Alcohol metabolises as sugar.

If these don't work after a few months I would not hesitate to start on a statin. In my case, I did all the things I talked about but still could not get my cholesterol down so I went on a statin and have been on them 5 years. They have controlled my numbers well below recommended levels and I have experienced no side effects. Just make sure to get you liver functioned checked a couple times over the first year or two to make sure you are not experiencing any side effects you can't feel.

Good luck!

Jon

[RadioAstronomyObserver]

Seems to me that excessive amounts of exorcise is required for your competitions.  If so then you have done most of the "natural" cholesterol lowering you can by that alone. If it's still high then diet is the next "natural" way to lower it and I would assume with the competitions you are already watching what you eat.  The only other thing you can do is to take the medication.

  Maybe a diet geared specifically for lowering/balancing cholesterol could help