Menopause and cholesterol risk

[healthy_sister]

My cholesterol/HDL/LDL/Triglyceride results have gone from 213/69/120/120 to 253/89/149/76 in the past 3.5 years.  I am going through menopause.  I get a lot of exercise (running 3x/week, walking 2x/week, taichi 2x/week, weight lifting and stretching 3x/week) and I have been eating a low glycemic, anti-inflammatory diet for over 6 years with increased strictness in the last 2 years.  My BMI is 21.7.

Should I be worried about my cholesterol?  Do the numbers say anything about heart disease risk?

[skydnsr]

I have to say, you seem really healthy to me.  I bet those other tests are going to come out good.  Whenever you find out about those additional results, I'd be curious to hear about them, too.  If CRP is low, and your LDL particles are predominantly the big, "fluffy" ones, I wouldn't change a thing.  You're already doing all the healthy lifestyle activities.  The only other thing you could do about LDL would be to take a statin, and if it were me personally, I just would not do it.  If CRP is high, there are some things you can do to reduce inflammation, but I bet it won't be high.

[healthy_sister]

Thank you very much for your comments. I used the Framingham calculator and the Reynolds Risk score.  My risk for both results were 1%, so no difference for the more recent numbers.  My blood pressure is 108/78 (no medication.)  No big weight loss recently.  I lost the two pounds I put on over the holidays, but that's it.

I wonder whether, if I get a good score for CRP and LDL particle size (I've read the bigger is better) then maybe the total cholesterol number isn't that meaningful.

[healthy_sister]

Thanks very much for your comment.  I eat salmon, sardines, a little bit of chicken.  I cook with olive oil, and eat plenty of vegetables and fruits and oatmeal, brown rice and barley.  I guess I will have to figure out how to comply with your suggestion on fat intake.

[skydnsr]

I notice that the ratio of HDL to LDL is almost exactly the same on the second test as it was on the first, and your triglycerides actually went down.  You seem as though you must be very fit, with your regular exercise regimen and your BMI of 21.7.  I'm right along with you in wondering if your second test results are really any "worse" than the first.  I'm having a hard time seeing how your cardiac risk could be very high, despite total chol of 213 and then 253.  Have you tried evaluating yourself on any of the standard cardiac risk algorithms that are on the internet?  You can pull them up by entering something like "cardiac risk calculator" (without the quotation marks) in the search window of your browser.  It will ask for data that you did not provide in your above post, such as your blood pressure, or I would run it for you.  I would run it with both sets of cholesterol results, and see if there is any great difference in your heart attack risk.  If you don't mind sharing, I'm curious as to the results.  Also, have you lost a lot of weight lately, because I was just reading yesterday that that can cause blood lipid results to look high for a while?

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hi, The goals to be achieved in lipid profile control are:

Total cholesterol - < 200 mg/dl
Triglycerides -  40 mg/dl
LDL - < 100 mg/dl

The other risk factors for coronary artery disease are diabetes, hypertension, cigarette smoking, obesity and a familial tendency to the disease. So, consult a general physician who will help rule out other risk factors. For control of cholesterol, I can give the following suggestions.
Reduce the total fat content of your diet to <30% of calories. Of which of saturated fat<10% of calories, polyunsaturated fat <10% of calories and mono unsaturated fat <10% of calories. Increased dietary intake of fiber rich foods like oat bran will help. Diet should be rich in antioxidant vitamins found primarily in fruits and vegetables. Reduce energy intake to achieve ideal body weight. Avoid alcohol consumption.

Continue with your exercise regimen, it reduces stress and helps improve blood supply to the heart. Regards.