Cholesterol

[kjhgfd]

I hear a lot about high bad cholesterol but I hear nothing about high good cholesterol. I have both.
I would like to know what are the consequences of having High Bad cholesterol AND High Good cholesterol? Does anyone know?

[kjhgfd]

Thank You for your reply.
I didn't know that. I'm Latina so Afro-American is apart of my nationality.
I will be doing more research on Hyperalphalipoproteinemia because my HDL was 81 when it was checked last so that is a little close to 85.

[kjhgfd]

Thank You for your reply.
I’m still trying to understand this good and bad cholesterol thing. I had a GP who prescribed a statin when my cholesterol hit 236 but he didn’t explain anything to me. I only know for sure where high cholesterol can lead to and that is what is so scary to me. I do wish that my former doctor had prescribed a statin when my cholesterol level was 195.
I try not to think about it but I am doing my best to change my diet and watch out for foods with cholesterol above 40 so I won’t buy them.

[kjhgfd]

Thank You for your reply.
My Lipid Panel is: TRIGLYCERIDES 85,  CHOLESTEROL 236, HDL 81, LDL (CALCULATED) 138
So it's not super high, and it's not just the bad being high but it the good cholesterol as well.

[ed34]

LDL is just half the story. It is known there are different LDL lipids, a large light one which is too big to get trapped in arteries, and a much smaller heavier LDL which causes the damage. Unfortunately everytime I have a lipid profile done, they just list LDL which includes both as a total. Meaningless really. My Doctor said there is not a system developed which can count the individual cell types, so just the total is given. He also added that high Triglycerides is usually a sign of an abundance of the damaging small LDL lipids.
Years ago, more money was pumped into heart disease research than any other illness by far, and it ended up being far more complex than initially imagined. Everytime one question seemed answered, another 10 would pop up. The exact chemistry of artery disease is still not fully understood.
Just to add, my Cardiologist told me that HDL seems to have little or no effect on controlling the high mass LDL lipids.

[erijon]

How high are we talking about? Also, much depends on if you are taking any meds. Let us know and I'm sure we can give some input.

Basically, high LDL and high HDL can cancel each other out. The goal is to keep your cholesterol ratio under 4.5, it is calculated as your total cholesterol divided by your HDL. Anything under 4.5 is considered healthy.

We all know the consequences of high LDL, it can form plaques in your arteries and lead to CAD. HDL can be a little tricky, it depends on the particle size. If your HDL particles are large, they are less effective. Remember what HDL does, it binds with LDL and brings it back to your liver to be recycled or eliminated. The large, puffy HDL particles are not very good at doing that.Studies have found that HDL that is increased with the use of meds tend to be larger than the HDL particles that occur naturally.

Jon