Need to look at more than the total number. Ive always had very high cholesterol (found out when I was 18 (30 years ago) when it was near 300.
However, my "good" (HDL) was crazy high, which jacked up my total. Runs in my family as well. I tried for a long time to get it down (ate literally no red meat) all salads, chicken, etc.
I mean for 10+ years. To no avail, if its hereditary, your liver just produces more.
So when I hit 40, my Dr. put me on low dose simvastatin, and he was more concerned with my triglycerides (mine were over 200).
On the lowest dose statin, for almost 9 years, I'm under 200 total for cholesterol, I have no liver issues (get checked every 6 months) and trigs are below 100, and my risk factor is very low.
So, get all your numbers, not just "total"...
My daughter is 20, weighs 100 lbs, and is very high (270), so yeah, runs in the family...
Normal triglyceride levels in the blood are less than 150mg per deciliter (mg/dL).
Borderline levels are between 150-200 mg/dL.
High levels of triglycerides (greater than 200 mg/dl) are associated with a increased risk of atherosclerosis and therefore coronary artery disease and stroke.
Extremely high triglyceride levels (greater than 500mg/dl) may cause pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).
