Raised cholesterol may not always be a problem

[Q.]

I read in one of the newsletters that I get that the author's cardiologist doesn't believe that high cholesterol is anything to worry about. There wasn't much info (it wasn't the primary story) so I did a little Googling and found several articles. Here's one and, when time allows, I'll try to add more. I've learned to be a little cautious when blindly accepting even my doctor's advice... what we "know" changes over time. Not that the doctor's advice is "wrong" or "bad" but they are also victims of the knowledge base of the moment and some of the accepted "knowledge" may be determined by who is likely to benefit financially by a particular position, in this case, drug companies that sell cholesterol lowering drugs.


Raised cholesterol may not always be a problem
SOURCE
Summary

Men with a heart attack risk factor are still at relatively low risk when the HDL-cholesterol level is high and the triglyceride (TG) level low, according to results of a Danish study. Almost 3000 men took part in the 8-year study in which a heart attack occurred in 229 men. The authors conclude that even if a major risk factor for heart attack is present, the risk is still low providing the TG level is low and the HDL-C level is high. The study says measurement of TG and HDL-C levels should always be included in screening tests. Dietary advice (plus the usual advice on smoking and checking for high blood pressure) may be sufficient for those with high cholesterol levels but low TG and high HDL-C levels.
Jeppesen J, et al. Archives of Internal Medicine 161:361-6, 12 Feb 2001

Study details

According to results of a Danish study, when the HDL-C level is high and the triglyceride (TG) level low, men with conventional risk factors for CHD still have a relatively low risk of a CHD event. The Copenhagen Male Study published in 1998 showed that a high triglyceride and low HDL-C level conferred a high risk of a CHD event, and the opposite a low risk. Conventional CHD risk factors tend to coexist with high TG and low HDL-C levels. A study was undertaken to determine CHD risk of men with traditional risk factors but low TG and high HDL-C levels. Participants were males aged a mean of 63 years in 1985-6 without evidence of CHD (n=3387). In total, 2906 were randomised. A high TG level was defined as =1.6 mmol/L and a low HDL-C level was that under 1.18 mmol/L. A low TG level was below 1.09 mmol/L and a high HDL-C was above 1.48 mmol/L. A first CHD event occurred in 229 men during eight years of follow-up. Overall, CHD occurred in 4.5 per cent of those with low TG and high HDL-C versus 12.2 per cent of those with high TG and low HDL-C, a significant difference.

A high TG and low HDL-C was associated with an odds ratio of 1.6 and conferred greater risk than any of the conventional risk factors. A low TG and high HDL-C level was associated with a significant reduction in the odds of a CHD event (OR=0.6). With each of the major CHD risk factors, a clear gradient of risk was apparent, being low with the low TG-high HDL-C group and two- to three-fold higher with the high TG-low HDL-C scenario. Risk of a CHD event was 5 per cent or less in those with conventional risk factors but low TG and high HDL-C. In patients with a high LDL-C level but low TG-high HDL, risk of a CHD event was much lower than in those with low LDL-C but high TG-low HDL-C.

The authors calculated that one-third of the CHD events could have been avoided if all men were part of the low TG-high HDL-C group. It appears that a low TG-high HDL-C level is a stronger CHD risk factor than the major conventional risk factors, and even if a major risk factor is present, risk of a CHD event is still low providing TG level is low and HDL-C level is high. Those with high TG and low HDL-C levels often display aspects of the metabolic syndrome, ie, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance and hypertension. In these people the LDL particle tends to be smaller and more atherogenic, as are the TG-rich lipoproteins. Moreover, high TG and low HDL-C is associated with poor fibrinolysis. Another study from the West of Scotland produced similar findings: middle-aged men with hypercholesterolaemia alone had a 5 per cent 5-year risk of CHD whereas those with the metabolic syndrome had a 14 per cent event rate. "Measurement of TG and HDL-C levels should always be included in screening tests". Be mindful of the metabolic syndrome, and individuals with this disorder should undergo lifestyle modification (weight loss, low fat diet, exercise) and be considered for fibrate and statin therapy.

Dietary advice (plus the usual advice on smoking and checking for hypertension) may be sufficient for those with high cholesterol levels but low TG-high HDL-C.
Jeppesen J, et al. Archives of Internal Medicine 161:361-6, 12 Feb 2001

Originally posted week beginning 13 March 2001

Disclaimer
This is a summary article from MedALERT, a clinical journal review service written by Dr Peter Louisson (MB ChB). Originally selected to inform General Practitioners, knowledgeable New Zealand health consumers may also find this article useful. This information is intended solely for New Zealand residents and is of a general nature only and no person should act in reliance on any statement contained in the information provided and at all times should obtain specific advice from a health professional. All rights reserved. © CMPMedica (NZ) Ltd. This publication is copyright.

[Q.]

Here's another

Cholesterol
SOURCE

See the May, 2002 issue of Scientific American for the truth on heart
disease. Everything has changed...

Forget what you have heard about good cholesterol / bad cholesterol. It
isn't much of the problem...if at all.

That should wake you up!

Cholesterol is a mid-arterial-wall patch! That means the cholesterol is
under the first thin layer of cells in the artery and does nothing to block
the artery or hurt it.

Not the problem!!

The real problem is the cracks and tears in the lining of the wall of your
artery!! When the tear gives way, the blood clots there and gives a sudden
shut-off..."big heart attack"..."stroke"..."you die"..."game over"!

So here's what you do:
--Load up with trout, salmon, sardines, cold water fish 3-6 times a
week.
--Take generous amounts of flax oil and olive oil each day.
-- take Vit C, going in 500 mg, 3x/day (if you don't get loose stools).
--Eat small berries frequently (blueberries are the best, our OPC also
furnishes a rich supply of berries and 57other natural nutrients).
--Get chelation therapy.
--Stop sugar and foods that make sugar: all milled grains, rice,
bananas, wheat, potatoes, limit carrots to 3/day...they turn you and your
arteries to brittle plastic --sugar carmelization!!
--Take Folic Acid, 1 mg/day
--Take CoQ10, 10-200 mg/day
--Exercise 30 min, 5x/week
--Cut your food intake, Fast to live after age 45 (one day a week is
good).
--Take Carnitine, 500 mg/day.

Now here's what not to do:
--Don't eat margarine or fried fats.
--Don't take anti-cholesterol pills...they have killed many...they block
your CoQ10.
--Don't take Thiazide diuretics...they ruin your kidneys after 3 months.
--Don't trust aspirin.
--Don't trust any medications used over 2 weeks.
--Don't have surgery...cutting the pipe out is not needed.