ng0rge
#596
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I used to think that high LDL-C was 130 or greater…is it my imagination or did they change things? Now 160 is high? Hmmmm?
I’m content with my 150 number… can go up to 170, knowing that my coronary calcium score is 0 zero. And I have a heart of someone under 35 years, despite my very saturated fat diet of steak and whole milk.
Years ago, my doctor wanted to put me on statins.Told her nope… and switched to a different doctor.
Current numbers:
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@Anuser Ask and you shall receive. 
BTW, I’m still in the low LDL/ApoB is better camp. My family history tells me I need to keep my LDL low.
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Everyone is different… know your limits.
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AnUser
#600
Not sure why someone would increase their heart disease and all-stroke risk, and mortality, just to decrease their ischemic stroke risk. At least that’s what I understand the tradeoffs to be.
That doesn’t measure soft plaque which is the primary reason for disease, you’d probably want to do a CT angiogram as well.
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AnUser
#601
It’s not as if things exist in isolation, you only get to pick the best option, and in-action is the same as action.
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Exactly.
Which is why a good understanding of your family’s genetic predisposition is very important to your own health and diet choices. I was tested by my physician last year and my higher LDL-C comes from a genetic familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) through my mother.
It is a genetic disorder that causes high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. It’s caused by a mutation in one of three genes that tell the body to produce proteins that clear LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream. FH can affect anyone whose family carries the genetic mutation, and it’s estimated to affect 1 in 250 people in the U.S. For my family this has not been an issue except the cholesterol deposits in the eyelids (sucks). An obvious give away of the genetic condition. Uniquely higher LDL-C as a genetic trait has never been an issue for my family – heart problems (atherosclerosis). Family is longed lived in great health 90’s plus. Death by pneumonia and worn out.
I agree that a Cleery test would be ideal - but few clinics provide the test in my state of Missouri and it involves the test in one place and a doctor from a separate group reading the test and with all that running around across the state - the cost is huge and not covered by insurance. My repeating the Coronary Calcium Scan at 66 years old – two years later and having the exact same results puts my mind at ease that a carnivore diet is working for me. I will recheck in 2-years - is covered by insurance costs around $600.
Link: Could a Calcium Score Prevent the Need for Statins? | Atlantic Health.
Cleery and Coronary Calcium Scans link: Cleerly Versus Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CACS)
It was MAC - not sure where he wandered off to…lol; that encouraged me to look under the hood and get my first Coronary Calcium Scan 2-years ago. I would say the same to anyone on this site that if you are 60 years up and insurance covers it by all means do it . Even if not covered. A great tool to understanding your body’s current state of health.
Thanks Chris for this chart:
At minimum I should have a 3 and be in the lower 10%. I am zero.
We can continue this discussion when I am 90 years old.
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Eggs and mortality. From ConsumerLab.
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Bicep
#604
berberine gets rid of TMAO
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Just found out I have a CAC score of 8 and I’m only 40. Pretty bummed but going to use this to try to motivate myself even more. Will start by taking a statin
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@austin242 I’m glad you’re taking action now instead of waiting for that heart attack or stroke!
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Just be aware a Calcium Score is not actually a full representation of vascular risk or disease burden. Small vessel disease in the brain with stroke is often present without having significant cardiac hard calcifications, which is what you’re seeing on Cardiac Calcium Score. You can have soft plaques also, without hard plaques and look good.
I guess, I’d feel more reassured that you can ignore - for the time being, the LDL, if you had an MRA brain and neck that looked clean, including small vessel disease.
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So … the detail that is critical here, is that we aren’t comparing people with no cholesterol in their diet adding 1 egg or 2 eggs and saying no impact (as there would be a big impact). We are instead comparing people on a standard diet with plenty of cholesterol adding even more.
It’s a great trick - If I design a study with individuals already consuming 500 mg of cholesterol daily - I can load them up with a whole bunch more and it does almost nothing – the maximal effect of diet has already occurred.
If I take someone with 0 mg of cholesterol per day and add an egg yolk … that has a substantial impact.
So the harm of taking something with a lot of cholesterol in it relates to how close your diet is to maximally saturating the amount you can detriment your cholesterol due to dietary consumption. If you are not close at all – it has a big negative impact … if you are already close or over … makes little difference.
So a person who is WFPB taking eggs … things certainly worse compared to their low risk baseline. Person on crappy diet … go for it … probably won’t make things worse.
This is why a trial like this above doesn’t help at all, as it depends on one’s diet as to how much worse you make things.
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Bicep
#609
Might work, but as Ivor Cummins used to say in his youtube videos the elephant in the room (of heart disease) is insulin resistance. You have to get off sugar especially fructose. JMHO.
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LDL/ApoB cholesterol, insulin resistance and inflammation are all parts of the CVD problem. Address them all if you want to live a long and healthy life.
Try Bempedoic Acid (or a statin) + Ezetemibe and an SGLT2I (or Metformin) as a great way to start.
I understand - and there is family history that I consider. I wish getting a Cleery scan was more available in my area. Maybe in two years!
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Don’t know where you live - but we are doing our first whole body MRI, which includes MRA brain and neuroquant (each area of brain is measured and plotted to age/gender %tile) - all self ordered with SimonMed Imaging - they have offices in lots of areas - we are traveling to Louisville to do it as we weren’t as happy with options we had in our area (Nashville). $1250 … not free … but a normal MRI/MRA brain would be further reassurance that your lipids aren’t actually generating disease … I don’t know if they offer just the MRI/MRA head and neck as a stand alone or if it has to be part of the Whole body …
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Yes - I have seen it mentioned on here - whole body MRI. I might have to do a travel - do know a reasonable cost range? Is $1,250 high?
Would consider in 2-years on my next total body check.
$1250 is the best I’ve seen - most are in the $2500-$3000 range. Now with them a torso MRI (no head/neck) is just $650 … but looking at vascular disease in the brain and brain atrophy, evidence of prior stroke, etc … requires the MRI/MRA brain.
Anyone who is choosing not to optimize lipids, on the basis of them not having evidence of vascular disease needs to be pretty sure they are right - as you don’t want your first warning that you made the wrong assessment to be a stroke, for example.
I’m totally in favor of people that have worrisome lipid profiles who are not wanting to take meds for whatever reason, reasonably demonstrating a complete lack of vascular disease. If so - it is reasonable to periodically monitor (it is way more expensive than just treating to optimize lipids however).
At the point there is any evidence of vascular disease, the strategy needs to move to treating the lipids and optimizing everything, as once you have some disease, the rate of progression is not entirely predictable.
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LaraPo
#615
Is it done with contrast (Vieway)?
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