Moms Cholesterol is 219..Should I worry?

Question

I'm her daughter and I worry about her alot..They are putting her on Lipitor....Isnt this borderline? Shes very healthy..Shes only 54..

Answer 1

If you have provided LDL/HDL/Trig composition, then you can get a better advice. Anyhow why you are using Lipitor, why not natural foods like Garlic etc.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Don't worry! 219 is a total cholesterol measurement. You need to know HDL and LDL numbers to know what you're dealing with. If her good cholesterol is really high, it mitigates the bad cholesterol. Putting her on Lipitor will bring her bad cholesterol levels down rapidly, so that's a good thing! Staying away from trans-fats and animal fats is a necessity! Tell her to eat tons of fiber too! Unfortunately it runs in the family so start eating right yourself!!

Answer 4

Yes, you should 'worry' about your mother's HIGH cholesterol! If the 219 you gave is the 'bad cholesterol' then there are two other 'numbers' you should know ... her 'triglycerides' and her 'good cholesterol' ... and 'just taking Lipitor' is NOT GOING TO SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM. Your mom needs to 'eat better foods' and probably should also not use as much salt (there is way too much salt in 'prepared' foods and also in 'canned' food and frozen food) ... and she should not eat 'saturated fats' and should eat things like 'flax seed' as oil or added to her cereal. She should see a 'good nutritionist' and try to follow as much of the 'nutritionist's advice' as possible. I'm guessing that this it the 'first' sign of any problems for your mom, and that her doctor isn't 'too worried' ... but by doing 'little things' now to make it better, your mom will be 'far better, far longer' ... and you want her to live to a 'really ripe old age' ... right?

Answer 5

You are not writing from the United States although most of the readers in this forum are in the US and will be unfamiliar with your figures referenced above. If I recall 'one stone' is 14 pounds or 6.4 kg. This would mean that your mother's weight is 126 pounds or 57 kg. If this is correct then her body mass index is 19.7 kg/M2 which is excellent. Her total cholesterol has dropped from 6.4 mmol/L or 247 mg/dL to 5.8 mmol/L or 224 mg/dL. It is very true that a person's total cholesterol is determined both by genetics and diet. Unfortunately, at this point in time, no physician should be interested in a person's total cholesterol. I have asked my reference laboratory to suppress this value so patients will not ask me for this number. They are not able to do so as this would require a specific change in their software. Why do we still measure total cholesterol? The total cholesterol is needed to calculate the LDL cholesterol according to the 1972 equation of Dr. Friedewald. We have been able to directly measure LDL inexpensively for 20 years, so it frustrates me that physicians still use the old equation. What is more important is your mother's LDL and HDL cholesterol levels. LDL is referred to as 'bad' as higher LDL means more plaques in arteries. HDL is referred to as 'good' as it may be thought of as a pickup truck. It carries LDL to the liver for deposition into the bile duct and then into the stool. The ratio of LDL and HDL is the pivotal factor. When in doubt, it is possible to 'fractionate' LDL and HDL to determine their size. 'Smaller' LDL is not good, and 'larger' HDL is good. In addition - we are able to determine the number of 'particles' within both LDL and HDL molecules. I have been involved in lipid (the proper term for cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and VLDL) research, so I should be in a position to be of some help to you. If you have additional questions or if you need additional information feel free to email me at [e-mail]. I wish you and your mother the very best of health and may God bless.

Answer 6

Now the limits are being revised and women are considered to be at equal or greater risk than men. She is 54 and is probably in menopause, so the hormonal protection is also not available. It is good that her general health is good. Let her take the medicines. If you want to know more about the various risk factors, read the first 3 reviews at http://swamyreviews.blogspot.com/
and buy a book (s).

Answer 7

I have had similar pbls and today i m feeling much better after taking this product from USA call Bios Life which contain high fibre and this have helped bring my bad choletrol down ...i am 49yrs this yr
You might want to try this for your mum....its much better then taking statin drugs into our body....

Answer 8

Check that site out it should help alot. I think its bad.