What is the risk of a high cholesterol?

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Submitted by Dr T on June 16, 2011 – 7:36am

Question: 
Hi Dr T, I have a question concerning when a cholesterol lowering drug is needed. I’m 39 y/o, otherwise healthy male. Although I eat right and exercise moderately, my cholesterol is nearly always slightly elevated with my HDL being the most “out of whack. An example would be 200 ( total), 110 (LDL) and 38 (HDL). These very a bit but the are always just slightly out of tier recommended range. This has been the case for about 5-6 years. AT what point is medication required. Thanks for the service you provide…

While your cholesterol is too high, you haven’t told me about other factors that might put you at risk for developing Coronary artery disease and stroke.

To calculate your risk, look here:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/risks-benefits/heart-risk-factors
https://www.cardiachealth.org/risks-benefits/cardiovascular-risk

Without that information it is hard to judge what to tell you. However, no matter what, any advice to you should include cessation of smoking, diet and exercise. To what extent that would be sufficient in your case, I don’t know. If you don’t smoke, have no other risk factors such as obesity, hypertension and/or diabetes, you should try a healthy diet and start exercising first.
I blogged about the routine use of statins before:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/ca-blog/should-everybody-use-a-statin-to-

For cholesterol treatment, here are your options:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-disease-treatment/heart-disease-med

Hope this helps,
Dr T
https://www.cardiachealth.org/

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