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Avatar universal

Cholesterol Levels...

Hi! I'm a 28 year old female, whose been having some health issues lately. It started in October of last year with a strange head pressure. It went on from there. But, this post is about my recent lab results. I finally found a doctor to listen to me, and she requested A LOT of bloodwork. I found out that I have a high Chol/ LDL ratio of 4.86 (I know, horrible!!!) and I'm freaking out.

My lipid panel is this:
Total LDL: 115
    LDL: 103
    Lp(a): 3
    IDL: 9
Total HDL: 35
    HDL2: 7
    HDL3: 28
Total VLDL: 19
    VLDL 1+2: 8.0
    VLDL3: 11
Total Cholesterol: 170
Triglycerides: 101

I know that my good cholesterol is low, which stinks, but my question is... or I guess what I'm worried about is having a heart attack or developing heart disease. My doctor said that she doesn't want to put me on medication at this point, b/c she believes that I can change this drastically with diet/ exercise. I'm really concerned, b/c for most of my life, when standing for too long (i.e. showering, doing dishes, etc.) I get really spotchy legs (purple, and orangish splotches on my thighs and knees). I'm assuming this is a circulation problem, and I'm wondering if this is good indication of some sort of blockage that I already have. It happens in both legs.

So, I guess I'm just curious if I'm a HA waiting to happen... and if diet and exercise will be sufficient to helping me get my HDL up??? I also have a ton of other lab results if you'd like some more information. And, are there any blood tests that actually give an idea of how your heart/ muscles are functioning??? Thank you so much for your help. Have a great day.
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Avatar universal
Hi! Thank you for your post, and Happy Belated Birthday!!! ;) I know it seems silly to worry, but my doctor made me believe that my low HDL is the worst possible scenario with Cholesterol... Thank you again for replying, really... it means a lot!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Just let me give you some values (my own) so that you get some perspective instead of worrying about an impending heart attack:
Total Cholesterol: 268
LDL: 189
HDL: 58
Triglycerides: 106
I just celebrated my 76th birthday.
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