Thu, May-30-13, 13:45
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Senior Member
Posts: 1,635
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Plan: Primal/Paleo Atkins
Stats: 197.5/126/132
BF:19.4%
Progress: 109%
Location: Baltimore, MD
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Deciding what's important on a lab report
I'm fairly well read on the subject of cholesterol and CAD risk but am having a difficult time assessing risk based on the confusing and ever changing norms. I'd love some input regarding what I see as huge discrepancies in the various measures of risk presented by a number of experts.
When I first began tracking, TC and LDL was all that a doctor looked at. Then a high HDL became a significant protective measure, even if the TC & LDL were high and low triglycerides were also deemed important.
Additional research indicated that homocysteine levels were a significant factor. Later, inflammation levels, measured by a C-Reactive Protein blood test (C-RP) was indicated to be the true measure of high risk.
After some time, the be-all, end-all was said to be particle size. A person would either be Pattern A (large fluffy and non-atherogenic) or Pattern B (small dense and trouble). This is still widely spoken of, most recently in "The Great Cholesterol Myth" by Bowden/Sinatra (a cardiologist).
Many say that ratios of TC, LDL, HDL, etc. are really a better indicator of risk.
Most recently, a number of doctors (Dayspring, Attia, among them) have said to forget Pattern A or B particle size, etc. ......and that LDL particle COUNT (LDL-P) is the onlyl significant measure. Apparent docs like Sinatra don't agree.
Which brings me to my dilemma. Some of my labs (listed below) indicate low risk, others quite high. I'm at a loss as to how to resolve it. I'm thinking of seeing a cardiologist in hope that they can sort it out, although I suspect the doc could be as confused as I, as much new research seems to be conflicting. Anyone want to offer a diagnosis?
This is a recent NMR lab primarily done to measure LDL-P:
TC 260 ( high over 200)
LDL direct 171 (high over 100)
HDL 81 (desirable over 40)
Trigs 40 (desirable under 150)
LDL-P 1918 (high is 1600-2000)
Insulin Resistance Score :10 (desirable under 45)
A previous VAP gave me ballpark TC, LDL, HDL & trigs but also these:
CRP of .23
LDL Density Pattern: A
Homocysteine: 5.6 (desirable under 10)
Ratios are excellent:
TC/HDL: 3.2 (should be lower than 5)
LDL/HDL: 2.1 (should be lower than 4.3)
Trigs/HDL: .49 (should be lower than 2)
So it seems lopsided. And I haven't a clue what value are most significant. And research in this area seems to change quickly. One thing for sure: I am not going to take a statin.
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