Thursday, February 16, 2012
Thursday, October 29, 2009 concerned asks

Q: My total cholesterol is 253, HDL is 70, triglycerides 69, LDL 169. Am I at risk?

I am a 59 year old woman with no family history of heart disease.  I am not a smoker

or a drinker.  My mother had high cholesterol and her doctor put her on a statin drug.

She had very serious side effects from the statin.  My doctor says I should be taking

a statin, but I'm afraid to do so.  Can I lower my LDL and total chol. levels without

a statin?

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Answers (1)
10/30/09 12:27pm

Hi Concerned,

 

Here are the recommendations of the American Heart Association:

 

Total cholesterol less than 200

HDL cholesterol at least > 40, ideally > 60

LDL cholesterol at least less than 130, ideally less than 100

Triglycerides less than 150

 

You can make diet changes to lower LDL cholesterol:

 

Cholesterol - 4 Steps to Lower LDL Cholesterol

 

All the best,

Lisa Nelson RD

How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps

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