My cholesterol is 250, and my LDL is 159. Doc wants me on statins, though I have no other risk factors. Should I be concerned? AskDocs

• Age 43

• Sex M

• Height 6'

• Weight 158 lbs

• Caucasian

• Existing (possibly relevant) medical issues: Anxiety, neuropathy, IBS

• Current medications: diazepam for anxiety

• Total serum cholesterol: 250

• LDL cholesterol: 159

So my understanding is that the HDL/LDL ratio is most important. Obviously a total cholesterol level of 250 is rather high, but my LDL/HDL levels seem to be exceptionally good. I eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and avoid processed foods like the plague. I only use healthy oils for cooking; olive, avocado and occasionally canola or coconut. I snack on nuts and take fish oil supplements. I do eat meat but infrequently and in small quantities. I very rarely drink soda nor eat much in the way of sugary foods.

I typically exercise at least 5 or 6 hours a week but have been incapacitated for the last four weeks due to an injury, so my exercise has been nearly nonexistent for this time period. My doctor just tested my blood yesterday; I don't know if this recent duration of inactivity could have much effect on my total cholesterol numbers.

I don't smoke and I never have.

I typically have between 0 to 3 drinks per week

My blood pressure is consistently low to average

Blood sugars are normal

My family history on heart disease is sketchy; I don't really know if there is a risk factor there or not. My paternal grandfather died of a heart attack, but this was after being crushed by a refrigerator. My mother has a prolapsed mitral valve but has never had any other issues with it. Other than this the only thing I know of is that my oldest brother has high cholesterol as well.

I have read about the potential benefits vs risks of statins and it seems there is some hot debate in this area. I'm not sure my doctor's recommendations are warranted. Everything I read either says that the HDL/LDL balance is what really matters, or that the total cholesterol number is very important, with a few outliers saying that cholesterol numbers may not contribute to heart disease at all but that it may sometimes actually work the other way around (inflammation in the body causing cholesterol levels to rise). So what should I actually worry about-- what should I take away from these numbers? I'm not sure I want to risk the side effects of a statin-type drug if it's not likely to help me much, if at all.

Submitted May 14, 2015 at 04:38AM by Eclectix http://ift.tt/1L2LBJE AskDocs