Jill is a 35-year-old teacher who is interested in finding out what her lipid pr

Question

Jill is a 35-year-old teacher who is interested in finding out what her lipid profile looks like. Her father and mother have heart disease and she wants to get a better idea of her risk. She does smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. She also leads a sedentary life. She contacted her physician and had a blood test on Wednesday. By Friday, she received a letter in the mail with her lipid profile. Jill wants to understand what the numbers mean and whether they are in the normal range. She also wants to know if she is at risk for cardiovascular disease. Jill’s Lipid Profile Total cholesterol: 260 mg/dL; LDL cholesterol: 167 mg/dL ; HDL cholesterol: 35 mg/dL Based on these values alone, is Jill at risk for cardiovascular disease? What other facts about Jill’s life put her at risk for cardiovascular disease? What recommendations could you give Jill to lower her total cholesterol and LDL and raise her HDL? What other lifestyle changes would you recommend Jill adopt?

Explanation / Answer

For a normal person, the total cholesterol levels should be less than 200mg/dL. However those above 260mg/dL are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease. LDL cholesterol which is considered as bad cholesterol, deposits at the walls of artery, should be less than 100mg/dL as compared to HDL which is considered as good cholesterol. In normal person, HDL cholesterol levels should be higher than 60mg/dL. Any person having higher levels of LDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol levels is considered at risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

As Jill has total cholesterol levels at 260mg/dL, even her LDL levels are at higher side of 167mg/dL and the good cholesterol HDL levels are below 60mg/dL, which is considered high and she is at risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In addition, Jill leads a sedentary lifestyle and her parents are having heart disease, her higher levels of total cholesterol and lower levels of HDL cholesterol definately puts her at risk.

Recommendations for Jill to adopt involves :

1. Healthy diet: her diet should include more of fruits, vegetables, low fat, lean meat.

2. Healthy lifestyle: smoking should be discontinued.

3. Exercise: Physical activity lowers LDL and increases HDL. So weight management is very important for her.

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