9 surprising heart attack risks
A study of nearly 7,000 people led by a researcher at Indiana University analyzed the relationship between HDL, or good cholesterol, and major coronary events. The study concluded that low HDL was …
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How ‘good cholesterol’ protects against heart attack, stroke
The structure of human HDL cholesterol has been identified and it may also shed light on how this ‘fat packet’ protects against cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke.
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Blaming cholesterol med for achy muscles
Q. I take the minimum dose of the statin drug simvastatin once a day for my cholesterol. I used to take Crestor. Simvastatin doesn’t do as good a job - my LDL is still a little high and my HDL is a little low – but Crestor made my muscles …
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Function of the human receptor for ‘good’ HDL cholesterol unmasked
HDL is known as the “good cholesterol”: it lowers the chance of developing cardiovascular disease. Some families display naturally high levels of HDL in their blood. Research on the underlying causes of genetically high HDL cholesterol is important for the development of new medicines that can increase HDL levels in the blood.
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New measure trumps HDL levels in protecting against heart disease
A new study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine shows that a different metric, a measure of HDL function called cholesterol efflux capacity, is more closely associated with protection against heart disease than HDL cholesterol levels themselves. Findings from the study could lead to new therapeutic interventions in the fight against heart disease.
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Good Cholesterol May Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
Having higher HDL, or “good” cholesterol, may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, new research suggests.
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High levels of ‘good’ cholesterol may be associated with lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease
High levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as “good” cholesterol, appear to be associated with a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s disease in older adults, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Neurology.
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Truth About Cholesterol
People are always getting confused about the two types of cholesterol found in the blood stream. In this article, we will differentiate between HDL (high density lipoprotein), or the “good guys” and LDL (low density lipoprotein), or the “bad guys”. The levels of HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in the blood are measured to evaluate the risk of having a heart attack. Overweight people are more likely to have high cholesterol from eating too many fatty foods, but thin people should also have their cholesterol checked regularly. Often people who don’t gain weight easily are less aware of how much saturated fat they eat. Nobody can “eat anything they want” and stay heart healthy. Cholesterol should be checked regularly regardless of your weight, exercise habits and diet.
When too much LDL is circulating in the blood stream, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Along with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can clog those arteries. This process of arterial hardening is known as atherosclerosis “the ugly”. Most people who have this “hardening of arteries” are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. If your levels of LDL are more than 130mg/dl and you have risk factors such as obesity, smoking, family history or decreased intake of dietary fiber, you are at risk for heart disease. LDL levels less than 100mg/dl and low risk factors such as thin builds, increased dietary fiber and increased exercise levels will decrease the risks of heart or arterial disease.
Approximately one-third of the blood stream carries the “good guys” or HDL cholesterol. HDL removes excess cholesterol from plaque in arteries, thus slowing the buildup. Medical experts think that HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it’s passed from the body. To increase HDL levels, one needs to quit smoking, lose weight and exercise regularly.
Unless your cholesterol is dangerously high, it’s best to try to reduce it by changing your diet. Drug therapy is usually prescribed for those who — despite adequate dietary changes, regular physical activity and weight loss — still have elevated levels of cholesterol. Making lifestyle changes along with taking medication is the best way to help prevent heart disease. By reducing the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet and getting at least 30–60 minutes of aerobic exercise every other day is recommended, even if you’re taking cholesterol-lowering medication. Nutritional supplements will also aid in the decrease of cholesterol levels, however it is very important, as I always recommend to my Chicago chiropractic patients, consult your doctor when beginning any vitamin or nutritional regimen.
Cholesterol Levels – The Good, The Bad, and Management Of
What is cholesterol, and is it all bad? What’s the difference between LDL and HDL cholesterol? What are the healthy or normal cholesterol levels you should strive for?
In this article, I’ll explain what happens when your cholesterol levels aren’t normal, as well as some of the ways to manage them, so that you can be better educated and proactive where your health is concerned, and maybe even extend your life.
First of all, cholesterol is a waxy substance found in cells in all parts of the body. And no, it is not all bad. In fact, cholesterol is necessary for building and regenerating cells. It also insulates nerves and produces hormones in the body. The key is maintaining normal levels.
Where does cholesterol come from? About 75% of the cholesterol in our bodies is manufactured in the liver, and the other 25% comes from food, mostly meat and dairy products. If your liver produces too much cholesterol, that is when the levels become abnormal or unhealthy, and a method for bringing them back in balance becomes a necessity in order to preserve cardiovascular health.
This is especially important in people with diabetes, or metabolic syndrome (sometimes referred to as pre-diabetes.) Unhealthy cholesterol levels, when combined with weight gain and increased blood pressure, can lead to all kinds of health challenges.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
Notice the plural, because it is not only total cholesterol or just the bad cholesterol number that is important. Complete cholesterol care implies being aware of all the numbers.
So what are the numbers you should know that make up the complete cholesterol picture?
First is the LDL or bad cholesterol. This is the component that when it becomes elevated, causes buildup on the walls of the arteries. As this buildup hardens, it becomes plaque, which increases your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Science is proving that this buildup starts to develop in late teens and early twenties, and continues progressively as we age.
Of course as this buildup continues, it starts to narrow the opening in the arteries, restricting blood flow and raising blood pressure. Left unchecked, it can continue until it ruptures which causes a clot to form, totally cutting off the flow of blood.
If this clot is in the area leading to the heart, it is a heart attack. If it is in the arteries leading to the brain, that is a stroke. Both are considered cardiovascular disease.
LDL levels of greater than 190 are considered dangerous. 160 to 189 is considered poor, 130 to 159 is fair, and readings less than 129 are considered healthy. Some doctors are suggesting levels be below 100, and recent research is showing that if we can reduce our LDL to less than 70, we can actually start to reverse the plaque buildup.
The next number to be aware of is HDL, or the good cholesterol, which reduces your risk of CVD. In fact, your HDL number is becoming much more important because research has shown that for every 1% you reduce your LDL or bad cholesterol, you get about a 2% reduction in cardiovascular risk. But for every 1% you increase your HDL, you get a 3% reduction in risk. What should your HDL be? Healthy levels for men are above 40, and for women, it should be above 50.
Total Cholesterol or TC is the addition of your LDL, HDL and a component known as VLDL. Healthy levels are anything under 200. Another important number to be aware of is your cardiovascular risk ratio. This number is determined by dividing Total Cholesterol by HDL. This number should be below 5, with the optimal amount of 3.5 or lower.
Where do triglycerides come from? Fats consumed in our diet, or made in the body from carbohydrates, cause triglycerides in the blood. Some calories are converted to triglycerides and move into the fat cells for storage. So how do those numbers stack up?
Triglyceride levels of less than 150 are considered acceptable. Levels from 150 to 199 indicate moderate risk, 200 to 499 indicate high risk, and levels in excess of 500 indicate extreme high risk.
If it’s confusing to remember what’s good and what’s not, an easy way to remember the different parts of the total picture is “L” stands for “lethal” LDL, “H” stands for “healthy” HDL, and “T” stands for “treacherous” triglycerides.
METHODS FOR DEALING WITH UNHEALTHY CHOLESTEROL
There are different methods a person can use for improving one’s cholesterol levels. The most widely known is through the use of special cholesterol lowering prescription drugs called “statins”. Statins such as Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor, and others represent nationally a 25 Billion Dollar per year treatment option. They have proved themselves effective at lowering the LDL segment of the cholesterol picture, however they do very little to reduce triglycerides or raise the HDL.
Besides, statins sometime carry very significant side effects, and therefore some people can’t take them. What are some of these documented side effects?
The Statin Effects Study concluded that the top two are possible liver and muscle damage. However, there are also lesser known effects such as sudden memory loss, increase in eye cataract risk, suppresses the body’s natural immune function, increased cancer risk, kidney and nerve damage, depletes CoQ10 levels (necessary for healthy heart function), sleep disturbance, blood sugar or blood pressure changes, and sexual dysfunction.
According to the drug manufacturers, only an insignificant number of patients are affected by these side effects. But if you’re one of them, is it “insignificant” for you? What you will hear more and more from the drug companies, is that they also will admit that just lowering the LDL is not enough.
Combination therapy will become the new buzz word. It means adding additional drugs to raise the good cholesterol, or lower triglycerides or blood sugar. Of course, it’s highly likely that these additional drug additives will have their own set of additional side effects.
In fact, reports on the recent results of a clinical study by one of the leading pharmaceutical company’s combinations to try to raise the HDL led to “pulling the plug” on the whole experiment. Why, you ask? According to the report, an “unacceptable number of people died” while taking the combination therapy. Makes me wonder what number of people would be “acceptable”.
Do we see increased costs and co-pays in our futures? I believe you can bank on it. Some people feel, and I’m one of them, that even the cheapest co-pay is more than they’re willing to risk their quality of life for.
So are there other, safer alternatives for you? The answer is yes. In fact, according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines for healthcare providers, statin drugs should not be the first treatment option offered. According to these guidelines, Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) should be used as a first approach.
What are some of the features of TLC? Increase of soluble fiber, regular exercise, and weight reduction are the main ones. When it comes to diet, watch your fat intake, and eat more fruits and vegetables.
In addition to soluble fiber, other methods that can control cholesterol levels are the use of plant sterols or stanols, and a natural component called policosanol, from sugar cane, which blocks the enzyme in the liver that produces cholesterol. Statins block the same enzyme; however, the difference is that the policosanol does not damage the liver. Also ancient Chinese medicine has used a particular extract from the chrysanthemum plant to help in the breakdown of cholesterol.
If you’re concerned about safety and effectiveness, choose a natural solution with solid clinical evidence, that incorporates multiple methods, and raises HDL in addition to lowering LDL.
Be proactive in your own health, be educated on your cholesterol situation, make the right lifestyle choices, and you’ll improve your chances of living longer.
Additional information on lowering cholesterol can be found in “Your Guide to Lowering Cholesterol with TLC” by the US Nat’l Institutes of Health. NIH Publication 06-5235
Jack Koetting is a professional network marketer who specializes in teaching others how
to be successful with network marketing. If you want to get in touch with Jack
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visit http://www.jackkoettingbiz.com for free report.
Making Sense of Cholesterol Ratios, Lipid Profiles and Your Heart Disease Risk Scores
It’s very possible your MD orders lab work and you have no idea what or why you’re having blood drawn. Well, let’s clear up the confusion when it comes to your cholesterol labs.
The terms “lipid panel”, “lipid profile”, and “lipoprotein profile” are used interchangeably to order the same set of labs. To make reading this easier, I’m going to use “lipid profile” from here on out.
“Lipid” is simply a medical term for “fat”. A lipid profile measures fatty substances in your blood. Cholesterol is one type of fat.
When you eat food containing cholesterol or when your body produces cholesterol and releases it into your bloodstream, the cholesterol will attach to a protein. This package of cholesterol plus a protein is called a lipoprotein (lipid or fat plus protein). A lipid profile measures lipoprotein levels in your blood.
Lipid profiles include five components:
LDL – “bad” cholesterol
LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol carries mostly cholesterol, some protein, and minimal triglycerides throughout your circulation. LDL should be less than 130 mg/dL, ideally less than 100 mg/dL.
VLDL – “bad” cholesterol
VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol contains minimal protein and mainly transports triglycerides. VLDL should be less than 40 mg/dL.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood, not a type of cholesterol. Triglycerides are frequently used to estimate VLDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Here’s the calculation: triglycerides divided by 5 equals VLDL cholesterol. Triglycerides should be less than 200 mg/dL, ideally less than 150 mg/dL.
HDL – “good” cholesterol
HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol removes cholesterol from your bloodstream and carries it back to the liver. I like to think of HDL as a vacuum cleaner, picking up cholesterol LDL leaves behind in your arteries, the more HDL the better. HDL should be greater than 40 mg/dL, ideally greater than 60 mg/dL.
Total cholesterol
Cholesterol is essential to bodily functions, such as building cells and producing hormones. However, too much cholesterol will build up on artery walls, form a plaque, and potentially “plug” the artery resulting in a heart attack or stroke. Total cholesterol is calculated from the above components (Total cholesterol = HDL + LDL + VLDL). Total cholesterol should be less than 200 mg/dL.
Do you see how if you only know your total cholesterol, you only have one piece of the lipid profile?
Now, sometimes your results will include ratios or a risk score. Here’s an explanation of what those numbers mean.
Risk Score
A risk score is based on you lipid profile results, sex, age, family history, and various other risk factors. If you have a high risk score for heart disease, it’s best to speak with your MD to evaluate your risk score.
Cholesterol:HDL Ratio
You want a low ratio of cholesterol to HDL. A ratio lower than 4.5 is good, but 2 or 3 is best. You can calculate your cholesterol to HDL ratio by dividing total cholesterol by HDL. For example, your total cholesterol is 195 and your HDL is 55. 195 divided by 55 equals a ratio of 3.5.
It’s actually not your total cholesterol that has the greatest impact on your heart disease risk. The ratio of total cholesterol to HDL is a critical factor. If your total cholesterol is less than 200, but your ratio is 5, you are still at increased risk for developing heart disease.
LDL:HDL Ratio
This ratio compares the amount of bad (LDL) cholesterol to your good (HDL) cholesterol levels. You want a ratio less than 3.5, ideally less than 2.5. To calculate your ratio, divide LDL by HDL. For example, your HDL is 55 and LDL is 100. 100 divided by 55 equals a ratio of 1.8.
Triglyceride:HDL Ratio
A low ratio of triglycerides to HDL is best, ideally less than 2. To calculate your triglyceride to HDL ratio, divide your triglycerides by your HDL. For example, your triglyceride level is 200 and your HDL is 55. 200 divided by 55 equals a ratio of 3.6.
Lipid profiles are commonly ordered to assess your heart disease risk. Your doctor or dietitian will use the results to determine the best treatment to reduce your risk.
A lipid profile is beneficial, because you know your “good” cholesterol level and “bad” cholesterol levels. The interventions that work best to raise HDL and lower LDL differ, so knowing all your numbers helps you make the most effective changes.
You’re probably wondering why a lipid profile isn’t always ordered versus simply checking your total cholesterol (and possibly HDL). Cost and time always play a part and if your risk for heart disease is low, then a quick and less expensive screening makes sense. If you are at increased risk, a more complete assessment (lipid profile) may be more appropriate. Everyone’s situation is unique, so it’s best to discuss what’s right for you with your MD.
Author: Lisa Nelson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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