High, triglycerides is it THAT important??

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

Quoted message said:

Hi guys,

Some months back hubby had the video cam up the artery from the groin
(can't recall what the process is as called) and the doc came out
while he was still a bit dopy and spoke to us. He said, no plaque or
blockages of any kind, and to quote "squeaky clean" We went away happy
that the slight breath shortness was just the fact we live at 5000+
feet and he has congenitally small arteries on the back of the heart
and strenuous exertion is to be avoided.

OK, so much for background. He has been taking Gemfibrozil for high
triglycerides (cholesterol has always been fine) for a about two years
now and it suddenly occurred to me that if treating high triglycerides
is to prevent plaque then maybe he can drop taking them.

His triglycerides have always been high and his doc had never bothered
with them (because he said the cholesterol was fine) until about two
years back when he suggest the gemfibrozil to bring them down a bit.

We both like the idea of taking as few meds as absolutely necessary
for safe survival and if the high triglycerides are not causing a
problem then why treat them?

High triglycerides are believed to be more of a CAD risk factor when
there is MetS in the background.

Quoted message said:

Can he quit the Gemfibrozil?

He shouldn't if he has MetS.

Quoted message said:

naturally we will put this to his doc but
we'd like some alternative thoughts so we can make some sort of
informed decision.

Thanks in advance.

You are welcome.

Humbly,

Andrew
--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
http://www.heartmdphd.com

On 20 Nov 2003 14:28:05 -0800, [email hidden] (Dr. Andrew B.
Chung, MD/PhD) wrote:

Hi Dr Chung, and thank you for responding.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

High triglycerides are believed to be more of a CAD risk factor when
there is MetS in the background.

Pardon my ignorance, but CAD and MetS, what are they?

--

Kind regards,
Jenny and her tribe of survivors.

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

Quoted message said:

On 20 Nov 2003 14:28:05 -0800, [email hidden] (Dr. Andrew B.
Chung, MD/PhD) wrote:

Hi Dr Chung, and thank you for responding.

You are very welcome :-)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

High triglycerides are believed to be more of a CAD risk factor when
there is MetS in the background.

Pardon my ignorance, but CAD and MetS, what are they?

CAD is coronary artery disease.

MetS is metabolic syndrome.

Humbly,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
http://www.heartmdphd.com

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Pardon my ignorance, but CAD and MetS, what are they?

CAD is coronary artery disease.

MetS is metabolic syndrome.

Wow, now wasn't that a highly informative description of what "Met S"
is ???

The term "metabolic syndrome" was new to me when it was mentioned a
week or so ago in one of these threads that related to high
triglycerides.

Now I thought that the term "syndrome" described something specific
(like downs syndrome). But "metabolic syndrome" ?? Who the hell
thought of that term? Way too general. You know, we all die. Maybe
there's something called "death syndrome". There are certainly dozens
of metabolic disorders. Anyone of them could wear the title of
"metabolic syndrome".

Anyways, here's some USEFUL information about "metabolic syndrome".
BTW, in what must have taken someone many days of pondering and deep
thought, the term "Syndrome X" is also being used.

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"The metabolic syndrome, a cluster of potent risk factors for
atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus in
adults, is composed of insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension and
hyperlipidemia."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14624131&dopt=Abstract

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Syndrome X, a cluster of several metabolic disorders that includes
hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension, is
associated with severe vascular morbidity.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14624412&dopt=Abstract

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The metabolic syndrome (also known as the dysmetabolic syndrome,
syndrome X, or the insulin resistance syndrome) represents a
clustering of metabolic disorders--central obesity, impaired fasting
glucose, dyslipidemia and hypertension--that in adults predicts the
development of type 2 diabetes and/or coronary artery disease.

The metabolic syndrome in adults is defined according to the National
Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III by the
presence of at least three of five components: increased abdominal
girth; hypertension; hypertriglyceridemia; low levels of high density
lipoprotein cholesterol; and impaired fasting glucose. These metabolic
derangements have been targeted in the adult population because they
confer risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis and
premature cardiovascular disease.

http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HD-03-033.html

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