Kathy wrote: ↑Sat Jan 07, 2023 5:01 pm
Hi Everyone!
My cholesterol is 262 and my LDL is 171 and my HDL is 67. Triglycerides are 118. My Dr. wants to start me on statins. From what I've read it can cause "memory loss"....not what I was hoping for with an E4E4 genetic status!
What are your feelings on statins? And what diet should I follow to get this high cholesterol down into the normal range. My Dr. said "it doesn't matter what you eat...you have a "genetic problem" that will not lower your numbers."
Also to note, my Dad had open heart surgery when he was 68 with total blockages in arteries. My brother recently died at the age of 59. I really want to figure this out.
Gundry? Hyman? Furhman? Ornish? I'm sooooo confused. I don't like to eat any meat other than fish, chicken and turkey. I prefer veggies.
I really need guidance as I have my elderly Mom I care for and my 37 year old chronically ill daughter. I want to learn the best way to "live" with this genetic risk.
Thank you all for you time
Sincerely,
Kathy
[P.S What is the best diet/ lifestyle to get a very very high cholesterol number down into normal range?
Hi Kathy,
I suspect your great questions got lost in the post-New Year's busyness. So I combined them into one post and will offer my own experience. I hope others who have managed their cholesterol without statins will offer their own experiences and suggestions.
Between caring for your elderly mom and providing for your daughter's chronic health needs, you are doing an amazing job already with what sound like great meals!
I'm so sorry that your brother died recently at the young age of 57. I assume that was from coronary artery disease, cardiac arrest or maybe a stroke given your dad's history. It is never easy to lose a loved one, but especially hard when unexpected.
Some families do have genetically high cholesterol; I have a good friend who has been on a statin since the age of 18, when her cholesterol was 300. She's never weighed more than 100 lbs (appropriate for her height), is very active, eats wisely, but comes from a family where all of the men and most of the women died before age 55 of heart disease. She was shocked to discover she had ApoE 4/4, because no one had lived long enough to experience dementia or even cognitive decline. She has a great doctor and cardiologist and continues to be healthy at age 71.
My dad, like yours, had quadruple bypass at age 67 with major blockages. He switched to a healthier diet, went to cardiac rehab regularly, but died of cardiac arrest 7 months later, with his arteries again blocked. He also had Type 2 diabetes, which was not recognized as a risk for heart disease until shortly after his death.
When I was 65, I asked a new doctor about the results of an NMR Lipoprofile test I had taken on my own from Life Extension. The results were similar in 2015 and 2014, so I'll show those results, followed by what the levels were last October on another NMR test, after being on initially 10 mg/day and then 20 mg/day of atorvastatin.
Total Cholesterol: 230/131
Triglycerides: 234/50
HDL-C: 36/61
LDL-C: 136/73
LDL-P (Particle #) 1181/810
There's what seems to be a relatively common reaction of sore muscles with statins, which I haven't noticed, and what seems (from looking at Google Scholar) to be a much less common risk of sudden changes in cognitive functioning. All of the reports I saw of those scientific journals noted that the person fairly quickly returned to former levels once the statin was ended. Some retried other statins, with similar results, and again recovered after stopping. Unfortunately, I don't think all the case histories include the statin dose.
My doctor started me at 10 mg and checked by liver levels in about a month, and then again at 6 months and yearly after that. He also told me to be in touch with any side effects. Last summer, because I also inherited a high level of Lp(a), which is associated with an increased risk of aortic stenosis and coronary artery disease, I wanted to up the dose. Again, I had no side effects.
Like you, I enjoy veggies, eat little red meat and at age 70, have a resting heart rate between 55 and 65 and blood pressure in the normal range. I think we each have to do what feels right to us, based on what we know about our families and our own risk tolerance. It might be helpful if your doctor would give you a "prescription" to get a coronary calcium scan (CAC) at your local hospital. It's painless, 10-minute or less CT scan of your coronary arteries and can give you a number between zero to above 300. Zero means no plaque observed; higher scores mean more plaque. Here's some info on it from the Mayo Clinic:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-proced ... cium scan) Unfortunately, insurance doesn't pay for it; your hospital can tell you ahead of time what it would cost. If you have a "health cafeteria" plan through your work, you may be able to use that if you want to get the CAC without having to incur the cost.
You can also Google "diets to lower cholesterol" to get some ideas. Remember also that you are not your brother or your father; they may have had risk factors from genes or environment (work, neighborhood pollution), or other lifestyle factors that you don't. I hope you know there are no "bad decisions" for those of us with ApoE 4/4--every day we're bravely showing that genes are not destiny.
Nancy
