Input on my Mom

"Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My mom is 80 y/o, with no prior history of heart disease and she is very healthy. Her cholesterol
has always been within check, but just within the past 2-3 years, it has begun to be elevated. One
test from last year was 275, another from last year at 225, her most recent (last week) was 250
(why such large variations, I don't know ... mine is usually pretty consistent within about +-20.

Her doc wanted her to consider a cholesterol-lowering medication. She is very sensitive to meds,
and the statins have been no exception. I believe she tried Lipitor and discontinued it. She was
told that Pravachol is one of the statins with the least side affects, so she tried 20mg and
discontinued that. She asked the doc whether she should try 10mg, but the doc said it probably
wouldn't do anything.

Here's my question. She has a very high HDL. Her other test results from last week are:

HDL Cholesterol 79 Triglycerides 38 LDL Cholesterol l63.40 VLDL 7.60 Chol/HDL Ratio 3.l6

I would obviously like for her to be with us for as long as possible, and can't help but feel that
even with a 79 HDL, she'd be better off on a statin ... even just a small dosage. What are your
thoughts? Does she really need it? What recommendations can be made as to statins with low side
affects? And is it true that 10mg of Pravachol really won't do much?

Thanks very much for your help!

Larry

I'll let somebody else address the statin question. There are different views. Personally, I would
take it. However, if she is not taking an aspirin she should consider taking at least half an
aspirin a day unless she has some stomach problems.

Bill

Larry <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My mom is 80 y/o, with no prior history of heart disease and she is very healthy. Her cholesterol
has always been within check, but just within the past 2-3 years, it has begun to be elevated. One
test from last year was 275, another from last year at 225, her most recent (last week) was 250
(why such large variations, I don't know ... mine is usually pretty consistent within about +-20.

Her doc wanted her to consider a cholesterol-lowering medication. She is very sensitive to meds,
and the statins have been no exception. I believe she tried Lipitor and discontinued it. She was
told that Pravachol is one of the statins with the least side affects, so she tried 20mg and
discontinued that. She asked the doc whether she should try 10mg, but the doc said it probably
wouldn't do anything.

Here's my question. She has a very high HDL. Her other test results from last week are:

HDL Cholesterol 79 Triglycerides 38 LDL Cholesterol l63.40 VLDL 7.60 Chol/HDL Ratio 3.l6

I would obviously like for her to be with us for as long as possible, and can't help but feel that
even with a 79 HDL, she'd be better off on a statin ... even just a small dosage. What are your
thoughts?

Current national guidelines is to try 3-6 months of lifestyle changes.

Quoted message said:

Does she really need it?

Not if lifestyle changes work.

If your mom is heavier than "ideal," losing weight will help.

Have your mom ask her doctor about the 2PD approach:

heartmdphd.comwtloss.aspOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

What recommendations can be made as to statins with low side affects? And is it true that 10mg of
Pravachol really won't do much?

The pravastatin even at 10 mg will do something and may lower LDL by 20-30 points.

Quoted message said:

Thanks very much for your help!

Larry

You are quite welcome :-)

Humbly,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
heartmdphd.comheartmdphd.comOpen ↗

Larry,

I'd agree with her doc for 3 reasons 1) her ratio is good. 2) cholestorol is less important the
older you get. 3) She doesn't tolerate drugs well. Is she exercising at all? Is she eating fatty
fish 2x per week?

Larry <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My mom is 80 y/o, with no prior history of heart disease and she is very healthy. Her cholesterol
has always been within check, but just within the past 2-3 years, it has begun to be elevated. One
test from last year was 275, another from last year at 225, her most recent (last week) was 250
(why such large variations, I don't know ... mine is usually pretty consistent within about +-20.

Her doc wanted her to consider a cholesterol-lowering medication. She is very sensitive to meds,
and the statins have been no exception. I believe she tried Lipitor and discontinued it. She was
told that Pravachol is one of the statins with the least side affects, so she tried 20mg and
discontinued that. She asked the doc whether she should try 10mg, but the doc said it probably
wouldn't do anything.

Here's my question. She has a very high HDL. Her other test results from last week are:

HDL Cholesterol 79 Triglycerides 38 LDL Cholesterol l63.40 VLDL 7.60 Chol/HDL Ratio 3.l6

I would obviously like for her to be with us for as long as possible, and can't help but feel that
even with a 79 HDL, she'd be better off on a statin ... even just a small dosage. What are your
thoughts? Does she really need it? What recommendations can be made as to statins with low side
affects? And is it true that 10mg of Pravachol really won't do much?

Thanks very much for your help!

Larry

Brad Sheppard said:

Larry,

I'd agree with her doc for 3 reasons 1) her ratio is good. 2) cholestorol is less important the
older you get. 3) She doesn't tolerate drugs well. Is she exercising at all? Is she eating fatty
fish 2x per week?

Eating fatty fish is not going to lower LDL-C. Sorry.

Humbly,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
heartmdphd.comheartmdphd.comOpen ↗

Agreed. She has tried changing her diet with limited success. She does get exercise ... about 30-40
mins on treadmill doing a moderate-to-fast walking pace. No incline.

Larry

Dr. Andrew B. Chung said:

Brad Sheppard said:

Larry,

I'd agree with her doc for 3 reasons 1) her ratio is good. 2) cholestorol is less important the
older you get. 3) She doesn't tolerate drugs well. Is she exercising at all? Is she eating fatty
fish 2x per week?

Eating fatty fish is not going to lower LDL-C. Sorry.

Humbly,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD Board-Certified Cardiologist heartmdphd.comheartmdphd.comOpen ↗

Larry,

She sounds like she's in pretty good shape for 80. Working up to one hour of exercise daily would
be wise. Fatty fish wouldn't lower LDL chol but may reduce her risk of heart disease. She could
also try 1) oatmeal for breakfast 2) switching from butter or margarine to "Smart Balance" topping
3) using olive oil and vinegar for salad dressing. Finally, if her doc recommends a statin also go
with that.

Larry <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Agreed. She has tried changing her diet with limited success. She does get exercise ... about 30-
40 mins on treadmill doing a moderate-to-fast walking pace. No incline.

Larry

Dr. Andrew B. Chung said:

Brad Sheppard said:

Larry,

I'd agree with her doc for 3 reasons 1) her ratio is good. 2) cholestorol is less important the
older you get. 3) She doesn't tolerate drugs well. Is she exercising at all? Is she eating fatty
fish 2x per week?

Eating fatty fish is not going to lower LDL-C. Sorry.

Humbly,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD Board-Certified Cardiologist heartmdphd.comheartmdphd.comOpen ↗