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High Cholesterol
I am 24 year old male I weight about 190 with high cholesterol. I was on meds a few years ago Lopid but i was not following a diet and it did not seem to work. 2 months ago i had a cholesterol check and these are my results. TC=225 TRI=424 HDL=32 and i do not know the LDL because my Tri's were high. My cardio told me I need to cut out fast food and exerise more and change my diet I also take omega 3 now. So I have done all that I no longer eat fast food which is awsome but I have cheated slightly here and there. A week ago my primary physican decided to check my cholesterol and these where my results. TC=253 TRI=603 HDL=35. This doctor wanted me to get on crestor 10mg a day and see him in 6 weeks for more blood. I decided not to take the meds but exerise even harder. My question is.. is it possible that the lab results are not accurate? I dont understand how before on the first results i was eating fast food like crazy and when i cut it out my test is higher... Also i had a stress test done and it came back fine. How long does it take for cholesterol to clog artieries?
You seem to be putting a lot of energy into this forum trying to find out answers to questions which are likely already answered. Please understand I am not trying to be hard on you or critical, but you did indicate you have been hospitalized for a panic attack. It may be that anxiety is the real driver of your bus, and perhaps the next step is to talk to your doc about how to medically deal with anxiety.
Panic attacks/anxiety are real illnesses, likely with a biochemical root. Perhaps you are treating the wrong symptoms.
Panic attacks/anxiety are real illnesses, likely with a biochemical root. Perhaps you are treating the wrong symptoms.
I dont have a wife yet. I call her my wife cause she is gonna be. She is really my fiance. LOL
"So far i have had a CT scan/ Xray/ Stress test with a nuclear picture and i have been told i am fine"
Whether or not you"could" isn't relevant. What is relevant is that you have been told you are fine.
I suggest you make an appt with your doc, have the test results from the CT with you and have him discuss if it will make you feel better. The chest pain could be from your stressing about clogged arteries. If your doc thought there was a chance you had clogged arteries, I am sure he would have done a heart cath. Chill.
Whether or not you"could" isn't relevant. What is relevant is that you have been told you are fine.
I suggest you make an appt with your doc, have the test results from the CT with you and have him discuss if it will make you feel better. The chest pain could be from your stressing about clogged arteries. If your doc thought there was a chance you had clogged arteries, I am sure he would have done a heart cath. Chill.
Yea but what were they looking for? I am trying to determine if i have clogged artieres. I get chest pains every so often but my fiance says she notices me talking about them when i am stressed. So far i have had a CT scan/ Xray/ Stress test with a nuclear picture and i have been told i am fine. But at 24 could i still have clogged artieries? I run at the gym for 30 minutes a day and i feel fine.
I am going to guess it was the contrast dye to help improve the imaging. I believe it contains iodine, to which I have a mild allergy. They gave me benedryl before and after, and that helped. Iodine dissapates in the body and within a fairly short time, it is gone completely.
I wanted to ask another question. When i was in the hospital for a panic attack they did a cat scan of my chest and injected some medicine that burned throughout my body... What was that test looking for? And if they let me go that a good thing?
Of course it is discouraging to have heart issues at our age. (I am 64 and also have treated my body reasonably well). I am fortunate my problems are only rhythm problems, hopefully solved with ablation. I had a 64 slice ct scan recently and learned I was 40--70% blocked in two arteries. That got my attention, and I am working even harder to keep my weight under control and to exercise and eat a healthy diet. A month ago I did a ten mile hike and fishing excursion in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming, up to 10500 feet.
Does life go on as you indicate? Absolutely, and I suspect we both do our best to maximize our daily experiences. Now our goal on this forum is to encourage others to take charge of their health and live fully while maintaining healthy behaviors-- knowing there are no guarantees.
Best of luck to you and your pipes. Let's hope you can keep them from plugging again.
Does life go on as you indicate? Absolutely, and I suspect we both do our best to maximize our daily experiences. Now our goal on this forum is to encourage others to take charge of their health and live fully while maintaining healthy behaviors-- knowing there are no guarantees.
Best of luck to you and your pipes. Let's hope you can keep them from plugging again.
I spent most of a lifetime doing the right things. At 59, with NONE of the "risk factors". I had triple bypass surgery. The only thing that all the docs could say was well, if you hadn't been doing the right thing it could have been worse. You could be dead. Yep, could be. Also, it could be that if I had high blood pressure and cholesterol, and ate fast foods, it may have not happened at all.
I've known many people that have literally turned their lives upside down and inside out when faced with heart trouble. I haven't seen any particular benefits. Some are still suffering with it, and some are dead. Of course, I guess if you were to ask the docs and study writers, they would contend that had they not done the right thing, they would likely be much deader.
Obla di, obla da-------life goes on.
I've known many people that have literally turned their lives upside down and inside out when faced with heart trouble. I haven't seen any particular benefits. Some are still suffering with it, and some are dead. Of course, I guess if you were to ask the docs and study writers, they would contend that had they not done the right thing, they would likely be much deader.
Obla di, obla da-------life goes on.
Not all science is good science. People with an agenda can slant many things with "research." However, I believe it is foolish to ignore important data on heart disease. If you do, ignore it at your own risk. Good science involves involves blinded studies and sophisiticated mathematics to
determine if the findings are meaningful. Most medical research does this.
When it comes to human health, of course we don't know all the answers. But science has allowed us to know a lot, and to ignore what we know can be dangerous to our health.
Of course there are people like Winston Churchill who had all the bad habits and lived past 90, and others who did all the right things and did not survive to old age. If staying healthy is our goal, then use the knowledge from commonly accepted good science--eat right, exercise, keep BP and cholesterol under control. Are there guarantees? Of course not! Yet, if you gamble and intentionally stack the cards against yourself, then don't be surprised if you lose.
determine if the findings are meaningful. Most medical research does this.
When it comes to human health, of course we don't know all the answers. But science has allowed us to know a lot, and to ignore what we know can be dangerous to our health.
Of course there are people like Winston Churchill who had all the bad habits and lived past 90, and others who did all the right things and did not survive to old age. If staying healthy is our goal, then use the knowledge from commonly accepted good science--eat right, exercise, keep BP and cholesterol under control. Are there guarantees? Of course not! Yet, if you gamble and intentionally stack the cards against yourself, then don't be surprised if you lose.
I've been reading studies long enough to know that you can make any study "indicate" anything you want it to indicate. All these risk factors "indicate" that they "may" be involved in heart problems. On the other side of the coin, they "may not" be.............
The most recent study I know of about risk factors is the INTERHEART study. The authors found that 9 factors that can be control account for 90% of heart attacks. The study included 30,000 people from 52 countries. Since we are not suppose to post links, you will have to google.
The risk factors are probabilities about populations. They cannot tell who will actually get the problems. Let's say you do do the calculations and end up in the high risk category, say 25%. What does this mean? One way to look at it is to say that out of 100 people with these risk factors, 25% should develop heart problems while 75 should not. There are people who smoke, have bad cholesterol, never exercise, etc yet who will skate through life without heart problems. You shouldn't model yourself after those people because they were lucky. They are walking time bombs.
To reduce your chances of developing heart disease, you shouldn't smoke, watch your diet, exercise, etc. This mean your chances are lower to develop heart disease but there is still a small chance to develop it. There are no guarantees.
Another way of looking at it is to conside lung cancer and cigarette smoking. Only 10% of all cigareete smokers will develop lung cancer. The best way to reduce your chances of developing lung cancer is to not smoke or to quit smoking You can still develop lung cancer if you never smoke. It is much rarer but it happens. (If I remember corectly, the wife of the Chris Reeves, the actor, recently die from lung cancer even though she never smoked.)
The risk factors are probabilities about populations. They cannot tell who will actually get the problems. Let's say you do do the calculations and end up in the high risk category, say 25%. What does this mean? One way to look at it is to say that out of 100 people with these risk factors, 25% should develop heart problems while 75 should not. There are people who smoke, have bad cholesterol, never exercise, etc yet who will skate through life without heart problems. You shouldn't model yourself after those people because they were lucky. They are walking time bombs.
To reduce your chances of developing heart disease, you shouldn't smoke, watch your diet, exercise, etc. This mean your chances are lower to develop heart disease but there is still a small chance to develop it. There are no guarantees.
Another way of looking at it is to conside lung cancer and cigarette smoking. Only 10% of all cigareete smokers will develop lung cancer. The best way to reduce your chances of developing lung cancer is to not smoke or to quit smoking You can still develop lung cancer if you never smoke. It is much rarer but it happens. (If I remember corectly, the wife of the Chris Reeves, the actor, recently die from lung cancer even though she never smoked.)
I forgot to mention that my grandma had BP over 200 syst. for 30 yrs, My uncle, her son, too had BP around 200 syst. and could not get it down with meds. He never had a heart attack, heart problems or a stroke and died at age 78 from cancer.
My mom side of the family had medical problems but lived long. My great grandma (moms side) died in her sleep 87 my grandmother is still around also she is 70 i think. My dads side of the family my grandfather had a bad valve or something he was born with. And my grandmother had some muscle disease. I seem to be the only one in the family with high cholesterol at a young age. Guess it does not matter. I am gonna take meds and eat smart and if anything should happen it happens. Cant control everything in life.
All I can say that my mother eat healthy, was not overweighed, never drank or smoked and died of stomach cancer at age 46.
My grandmother, her mother, never had a BP lower than 200 syst. she was not afraid of doctors or having her BP taken or anything like that. Back then they didn't have BP meds like they do now, the doctor, an M.D. not a homeopathic doctor gave her "Valerian Root" for her BP which of course didn't help. BP meds were not prescribed back then. She died in her sleep at age 83. Never had a heart attack or stroke. Had no heart problems, was fit as a fiddle, energy and everything. Don't know what her cholesterol was because they didn't check it back then.
My grandmother, her mother, never had a BP lower than 200 syst. she was not afraid of doctors or having her BP taken or anything like that. Back then they didn't have BP meds like they do now, the doctor, an M.D. not a homeopathic doctor gave her "Valerian Root" for her BP which of course didn't help. BP meds were not prescribed back then. She died in her sleep at age 83. Never had a heart attack or stroke. Had no heart problems, was fit as a fiddle, energy and everything. Don't know what her cholesterol was because they didn't check it back then.
Ok, not friends. Let's say aquaintances. People that you know (of). Can you really say that the ones with heart problems are the ones with all the "risk factors"? I can't. I'd have to go with about 50/50, amongst the people I know. All the risk factors just don't seem to hold water............
You have certainly put a lot of energy into finding answers for your cholesterol issues. It sound like you are going in the right direction to take charge of your health. One more suggestion: Read "The South Beach Heart Program," by Arthur Agatston. He is a renown cardiologist and the author of The South Beach Diet. He writes about aggressive prevention of heart disease. His ideas make sense to me and I believe if you follow his ideas, you can avoid heart disease and can enjoy a normal, healthy life expectancy.
Now I am thinking it was Michael who said he was a big smoker, so if I am confused, I apologize.
Stress tests can detect clogged arteries.
Your earlier comment
"I am gonna watch my diet, exercise, and if i need to take meds ill take them, and continue going for routine checkups." is the right way to go. I think that once you start down this road, you will feel better because you are doing something positive about your future. I think you will also feel better physically.
As far as risk factors, I am not sure what Jim62 is thinking. If you don't smoke, keep your cholesterol in the right ranges, exercise, watch your weight, etc, you will reduce your chances of developing heart disease. You can't choose your parents or your sex, but you can work on the other risk factors. (Besides, Jim comments about your friends not having heart disease and they eat fast food or smoke is silly. Your friends are most likely in their 20s. Heart disease (Heart attacks) are very rare in your 20s. The question is what will happen to your friends as they get older if they maintain their bad habits. )
Anyways, I think you are making the right decision by modifying your diet, exercising, taking satins if they are needed and going to the doctors for checkups.
Your earlier comment
"I am gonna watch my diet, exercise, and if i need to take meds ill take them, and continue going for routine checkups." is the right way to go. I think that once you start down this road, you will feel better because you are doing something positive about your future. I think you will also feel better physically.
As far as risk factors, I am not sure what Jim62 is thinking. If you don't smoke, keep your cholesterol in the right ranges, exercise, watch your weight, etc, you will reduce your chances of developing heart disease. You can't choose your parents or your sex, but you can work on the other risk factors. (Besides, Jim comments about your friends not having heart disease and they eat fast food or smoke is silly. Your friends are most likely in their 20s. Heart disease (Heart attacks) are very rare in your 20s. The question is what will happen to your friends as they get older if they maintain their bad habits. )
Anyways, I think you are making the right decision by modifying your diet, exercising, taking satins if they are needed and going to the doctors for checkups.
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