Hi jack9,
A cholesterol of over 600 *IS* very high, as a normal cholesterol
value is should be between 140 and 200 mg/dL! (I?m wondering if this
is not your triglyceride value, and not your cholesterol value.) It
would also be interesting to know when and how you had this sample
drawn and analyzed, and whether you have had this value repeated.
(I?ve included a little on triglycerides at the end of this answer)
For an ideal cholesterol reading, you should be fasting 10-12 hours
prior to having your blood drawn. Water is permitted. The sample
should have been a venous sample, and not a fingerstick sample. Some
health fairs, malls and grocery stores use a small handheld analyzer
that uses blood from a fingerstick, as opposed to having a sample
drawn from an arm vein. While these handheld analyzers are in
themselves not totally inaccurate, often the personnel using them is
untrained in control, calibration, and accurate sampling techniques.
(Of course, in your case, a result that is off by 40 points, would
still give you an exceedingly high result!) When used ?according to
the manual?, these small analyzers can be 30-40 points off a sample
that has been chemically analyzed.
Having said that, with a cholesterol value of 600, I would want a
second test to confirm this result. (I have seen too many mislabeled
samples in my career). If you have not done so, request a repeat test,
and be sure you are fasting, have it drawn in the morning, and watch
to be sure YOUR name is on the tube of blood.
Causes of an extremely elevated blood cholesterol, while certainly
exacerbated by a poor diet and lack of exercise, are usually from
hereditary/genetic causes, and may indicate one of the hyperlipidemia
syndromes, such as homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. It would
be interesting to know if you have had family members with heart
disease. In familial hypercholesterolemia, total cholesterol levels
may reach the 700 mg/dL to 1200 mg/dL range, which can easily result
in heart disease.
As you probably know, there are several ?kinds? of cholesterol, the
?Good? called HDL, for High Density Lipoprotein, and the ?Bad?
cholesterol, known as LDL, for Low Density lipoprotein. There are
other subgroups of lipids (fats), such as triglycerides, and VLDL,
for ?Very low density lipoprotein?. (Yes, that is the real name!)
LDL has such a bad reputation, because as it accumulates in the
bloodstream, it begins to stick on arterial walls, narrowing the
artery. As less blood can pass through the arteries, the body suffers
from heart disease, high blood pressure, blood clots, and stroke. If
our HDL is sufficieently high, it attaches itself to the LDL, and
helps dispose of it.
When you get blood drawn for a lipid panel, you get the following results:
Total cholesterol:
Desirable level: below 200 mg/dL
Borderline risk: 200 to 240 mg/dL
Undesirable risk: above 240 mg/dL
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol:
Desirable level: below 130 mg/dL
Borderline risk: 130 to 160 mg/dL
Undesirable risk: above 160 mg/dL
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) or "good" cholesterol:
Desirable level: above 45 mg/dL
Borderline risk: 35 to 45 mg/dL
Undesirable risk: below 35 mg/dL
Triglycerides:
Desirable level: below 200 mg/dL
Borderline risk: 200 to 400 mg/dL
Undesirable risk: above 400 mg/dL
Some labs will also calculate a CHD Risk factor for you as well.
http://health.yahoo.com/health/centers/cholesterol/4.html
Primary Causes of elevated cholesterol:
=======================================
1) Familial hypercholesterolemia
In familial hypercholesterolemia, a person has only half the number
of genes responsible for LDL, causing LDL to become chronically
elevated. ?Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal
dominant disorder that causes severe elevations in total cholesterol
and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc). Although moderate
hypercholesterolemia is a common finding in industrialized countries,
heterozygous FH occurs in approximately 1 per 500 persons worldwide
Familial or polygenic hypercholesterolemia?
?The prevalence of heterozygous FH in Europe approximates that of the
United States, but certain regions or populations have a higher
incidence. Among French Canadians in Quebec, the prevalence of
heterozygous FH is 1 case per 270 persons. Christian Lebanese persons
have a prevalence of 1 case per 170 persons. In South Africa, the
prevalence in Afrikaners is 1 case per 100 persons. The prevalence in
Ashkenazi Jews is 1 case per 67 persons.?
?Lipid levels are severely elevated in adults and children with
homozygous FH, with total cholesterol and LDLc levels greater than 600
mg/dL and normal triglyceride levels.?
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1072.htm
http://www.medped.org/MEDPED-What-is-FH.html
2) Familial hypoalphalipoproteinemia (low HDL syndrome)
While causing the same problem, this syndrome is the opposite of the
one above. For one, it is not hereditary, and is secondary to other
diseases. It has been blamed on smoking, and genetic mutations.
In familial hypoalphalipoproteinemia, a person does not produce enough
HDL, the cholesterol that clears LDL, the bad cholesterol, from the
body. ?The cause of this disorder is genetic, in other words, we
inherit this disease from either our mother or father. People in the
general population have a 3-5% chance of having low HDL-cholesterol.
People with this inherited disorder are at much greater risk for
developing coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is the term used to
describe atherosclerosis or "clogging" of the arteries that supply
blood and nutrients to the heart. Patients with CAD have a greater
risk of heart attack, stroke and death than those patients who do not
have CAD?
http://www.lipid.org/clinical/patients/1000003.php
http://www.emedicine.com/med/byname/low-hdl-cholesterol-(hypoalphalipoproteinemia).htm
3)Remnant removal disease (familial dysbetalipoproteinemia)
?The condition is caused by a gene defect that results in an
accumulation of large lipoprotein particles that contain both
cholesterol and triglyceride. The disease is inherited in an autosomal
recessive manner and can be traced to defects in the gene for
apolipoprotein E in many cases. The disease is usually not evident by
elevated blood levels or symptoms until the age of 20 or later.?
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000402.htm
?Atherosclerosis develops in the coronary arteries, internal carotid
arteries that supply blood to the brain, and the abdominal aorta and
its branches. The condition predisposes people to coronary artery
disease and peripheral vascular disease. The condition is worsened by
hypothyroidism, obesity, or diabetes. Risk factors are a family
history of familial dysbetalipoproteinemia or coronary artery disease.
The incidence is 1 out of 10,000 people.?
http://www.kernanhospital.com/ency/article/000402.htm
4)Familial combined hyperlipidemia
?This disease is genetic and inherited, although the specific
defective genes have not been identified. The person's cholesterol or
triglyceride levels become elevated during the teenage years and
continue throughout life. The types of elevated lipoproteins may vary
between affected family members.
Cholesterol deposits in the skin, called xanthomas, which are seen in
other disorders of elevated lipoproteins are rarely seen in this
disorder. This disorder predisposes the person to greater risk of
early coronary artery disease and therefore, heart attacks. People
with the condition have a higher rate of obesity and glucose
intolerance.
The condition is worsened by diabetes, alcoholism, and hypothyroidism.
Risk factors are a family history of high cholesterol and early
coronary artery disease. This is the most common disorder of increased
blood fats that causes early heart attacks. The rare person who gets 2
defective genes is at much higher risk for early heart attack due to
very high blood fat (cholesterol or triglyceride) levels.?
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000396.htm
Secondary Causes of elevated cholesterol:
Obesity
Diabetes or insulin resistance
Hypothyroidism
Nephrotic syndrome (kidney disease)
Alcohol ingestion (above 1-2 drinks perday)
Antihypertensives (beta adrenergic antagonists)
Thiazide diuretics
Steroid medications
Acne treatment (isotretinoin)
Sertraline (Zoloft®) therapy
A tendency to build up high cholesterol may run in families, but
excessively high levels are usually the result of a poor diet high in
saturated fats and calories, combined with little or no exercise. In
some cases, an elevated cholesterol level may be associated with an
undiagnosed medical condition, such as hypothyroidism (low thyroid
function) or diabetes.
http://www.healthsquare.com/highcholesterol2.htm
http://www.msd.com.hk/health_info/disease_information/hypertension/e_cholesterol_about2.html
http://www.msd.com.hk/health_info/disease_information/hypertension/e_cholesterol_about.html
?The most common cause of elevated serum cholesterol is eating foods
that are rich in saturated fats or contain high levels of cholesterol.
Elevated cholesterol can also be caused by an underlying disease that
raises blood cholesterol levels such as diabetes mellitus, kidney
disease, liver disease, or hypothyroidism. It can also be caused by an
inherited disorder in which cholesterol is not metabolized properly by
the body. Obesity, which generally results from eating a diet high in
fat, can also lead to elevated cholesterol levels in the blood. This
is because obesity itself leads the body to produce excessive amounts
of cholesterol.?
http://www.ehendrick.org/healthy/002083.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000403.htm
?Why not just take medication to lower my cholesterol in case my diet
plan is less than perfect?
Different drugs are used as treatment for hyperlipidemia but the most
common ones are in a class called "statins". They are similar to
building blocks of cholesterol and act as competitors so that real
cholesterol is not manufactured. These would include: lovastatin
(Mevacor®), pravastatin (Pravachol®), simvastatin (Zocor®),
atorvastatin (Lipitor®), fluvastatin (Lescol®), and cerivastatin
(Baycol®). When given alone for the prevention of heart disease, these
drugs can reduce coronary artery disease by 25-60% and reduce the risk
of death from any cause by 30%. They can have serious side effects,
however, so they are not routinely given for only slightly elevated
cholesterol levels.?
http://www.wdxcyber.com/ngen15.htm
Trigycerides:
From Yahoo Health:
Triglycerides comprise the largest proportion of fats (lipids) in the
diet, in the adipose tissue, and in the blood. Immediately after a
meal, triglycerides appear in the blood as the major constituent of
chylomicrons.
Normal Values
·Normal: Less than 150 mg/dL
·Borderline High: 150-199 mg/dL
·High: 200-499 mg/dL
·Very High: 500 mg/dL or above
What abnormal results mean
High triglyceride levels may be associated with a higher risk for
heart disease and stroke. This is especially true because people with
high triglycerides often have other conditions, such as diabetes and
obesity, that increase the likelihood of developing cardiovascular
disease.
http://health.yahoo.com/health/centers/cholesterol/4.html
I hope this has adequately answered your question. Please ask for an
Answer Clarification, before rating, if any part of my answer is
unclear. This will allow me to assist you further, if possible.
Regards,
crabcakes
Search Terms
Hyperlipidemia
Elevated cholesterol |
