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Originally Posted by masraum
According to the Dr, there are other types of cholesterol besides HDL and LDL so the numbers don't necessarily add up to the total.
My Dr doesn't actually look at just the numbers either. He also looks at inflamation (C-reactive protein), Cholesterol particle size, cholesterol particle count, and cholesterol oxidation. Since most Drs don't look at that stuff, and most folks concentrate on the total and HDL/LDL, I didn't think there was much point in posting the rest.
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I think triglycerides are the other things in the overall number.
What recent studies have shown is the the actual cholesterol number - taken by itself - is not a good indicator of whether or not a person is destined for heart disease. The things that they are now using to make the statin/no statin determination are factors like smoking, diabetes and family history. OK, google to the rescue:
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The guideline recommends statin therapy for the following groups:
•People without cardiovascular disease who are 40 to 75 years old and have a 7.5 percent or higher risk for heart attack or stroke within 10 years.
•People with a history of heart attack, stroke, stable or unstable angina, peripheral artery disease, transient ischemic attack, or coronary or other arterial revascularization.
•People 21 and older who have a very high level of bad cholesterol (190 mg/dL or higher).
•People with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who are 40 to 75 years old.
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So...the overall cholesterol number isn't extremely important (with the exception of the LDL portion). My cholesterol "number" is between 240-250, but I have none of the above, so I am low risk and no statins. YMMV.