[Dennis Kalma]

I have numbers so high the doctor said....and I quote " why aren't you dead yet?". Nice guy.

Anyway, I lost weight, changed my diet considerably, work out 3 times per week, pretty well reduced the fat intake....difference was as close to zero as damn is to swearing.

Anyway, did a bunch of reading on it, and from what I can tell, while for some folks with a number of heart related issues, high cholesterol is a problem, remember it is only one risk factor...not a guarantee of heart attack tomorrow afternoon.

In my case, I have done runs with all the various statins, they make a difference but they also attack my joints...got to the point with lipitor such that I couldn't make it down the stairs in the morning....would rather have the heart attack and go Home actually.

So here is the way I rate it. I am 50, have a resting heart rate of about 53 bpm, work out 3x per week, yoga once per week, average blood pressure, do not smoke, have a waist measurement smaller than my hips and have no (as in none) family history of heart attacks. All grand parents/parents made it into their 70's or 80's as did virtually all the inlaws.

Figure my risk is moderate, and so what the heck, I was not planning on living forever anyway.

I am now on Ezetrol...seems to be better joint wise, but has precious little effect on the cholesterol levels.

The risk factor, by the way, takes you from something like 1 death per 100,000 with average cholesterol to 1.6 deaths per 100,000 (if someone has the unbiassed numbers....feel free to update my misunderstandings). So it is a 60% greater risk, but still not like it goes to 35 deaths per 100,000.....

Anyway, your mileage may vary. Make your peace with your maker, leave your family in fair shape should you depart this vale of tears early and have fun with your Porsche in the meantime....

Dennis