Low "good" cholesterol doesn't cause heart attacks

Yahoo-Reuters ^ | 12-2-2011 | Andrew M. Seaman

[Dysart]

Despite plenty of evidence that people with low levels of "good" cholesterol are more prone to heart attacks, a large new study suggests that the lacking lipid is not to blame.

The analysis of data on nearly 70,000 people in Denmark affirmed the link between low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the so-called "good" cholesterol, and raised heart attack risk in the general population. But in people with a gene mutation that lowers HDL, heart attack risk was not found to be higher at all.

"Association itself doesn't mean causality," said lead author Dr. Ruth Frikke-Schmidt, a consultant in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen.

The results, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, indicate that just having low HDL is not what raises the likelihood of a heart attack.

"People with low 'good' cholesterol also have a whole bunch of other factors that relate to heart disease," said Dr. Christopher Cannon, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and editor of the American College of Cardiology's website.

It's difficult to study and isolate "good" cholesterol, added Cannon, who was not involved in the new study. People with low HDL often suffer from obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes and sometimes have higher levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, he said.

[Sans-Culotte]

My “bad” cholesterol is a tad high, but my “good” cholesterol is so high that my doc doesn’t worry about it.

[CaptainK]

My HDL and LDL are both high , so what does that mean?

[Brett66]

People with low HDL often suffer from obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes and sometimes have higher levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, he said.

I have low HDL and suffer from none of these, since I'm in shape, I doubt I'm at risk for heart disease.

[mtrott]

I have to tell my wife about this good news! She has low HDL, and her doctors have prescribed aerobic exercise and niacin to combat it. A prescribed 500mg dose of niacin almost killed her, except that, luckily, she vomited it up. Since then, she has been taking the controlled release Niaspan.

Then, she embarked on a 4 month long program of walking 45 minutes/day on the treadmill, which she did almost every day. After all this, her HDL only increased a couple points, and was still in the low range for HDL.

When she saw how ineffective these actions were at raising her HDL, she was understandably discouraged and has not been back on the treadmill since then, which is too bad since she was able to lose some weight in the process.

[mtrott]

I have to tell my wife about this good news! She has low HDL, and her doctors have prescribed aerobic exercise and niacin to combat it. A prescribed 500mg dose of niacin almost killed her, except that, luckily, she vomited it up. Since then, she has been taking the controlled release Niaspan.

Then, she embarked on a 4 month long program of walking 45 minutes/day on the treadmill, which she did almost every day. After all this, her HDL only increased a couple points, and was still in the low range for HDL.

When she saw how ineffective these actions were at raising her HDL, she was understandably discouraged and has not been back on the treadmill since then, which is too bad since she was able to lose some weight in the process.

[Dysart]

Yeah, my doc tried to get me on Niaspan, too. I told him that I didn't like the idea of forcing the liver to continually process/detoxify that stuff. Just because it's a vitamin doesn't mean it isn't toxic. We decided to skip it and I went on 4gm of high grade fish oil and it raised my HDL dramatically. No problems with mercury so far.

Make sure the wife is getting her liver ftn tested every few months.

[muawiyah]

Lets' see, my dad is 17 on the HDL and 50 on the LDL. I'm about double that. My brother is in the range, and my kids are close with a little higher on the HDL.

I've noticed that over the last 35 years my HDL really hasn't increased ~ it's been decreasing slowly but surly.

Way back then every time I had a blood test they'd ask me if they could have "more samples" for the then ongoing studies into why some folks have low cholesterol. I've filled as many as 20 tubes.

Thank goodness statins came along! This rarely happens anymore.

It's not diet ~ and it occurs independently of every other thing, even triglycerides.

My theory is it allows me to eat large copious quantities of seal liver ~ otherwise fairly toxic to humans. Alas, they won't let me test the idea.

[traderrob6]

Bottom line....”THEY DON”T FREAKIN KNOW”.

Speaking from experience , stay away from trans-fats, lotsa sugar, stress and get some excercise.

[CaptainK]

LOL that’s what I’ve always thought.

[PA Engineer]

High Ratio of Triglycerides to HDL-Cholesterol Predicts Extensive Coronary Disease

CONCLUSIONS
Although some lipid variables were associated with the extent of coronary disease, the ratio of triglycerides to HDL-cholesterol showed the strongest association with extent.

[nkycincinnatikid]

It means your health insurer has a new excuse to double your premium, not that they need one.

[DougSc]

Have your wife try 1-2 glasses of red wine each night. It raised my HDL’s 20 points. Pinot Noir is the best, it has the highest amount of Resveratrol. California and Oregan grapes the best. Auth. Men’s Health and my cardiologist.

[Dysart]

Therefore, in adults, the triglyceride/HDL-”good” cholesterol ratio should be below 2 (just divide your triglycerides level by your HDL).

Or more precisely, the triglyceride/HDL ratio:

2 or less is considered ideal
4 - high
6 - much too high

And, since HDL (high density lipoprotein) is protective against heart disease, the lower the ratio, the better.

In other words, the lower your triglycerides, or the higher your HDL, the smaller this ratio becomes.

It is now believed that the triglycerides/HDL ratio is one of the most potent predictors of heart disease.
http://www.yourmedicaldetective.com/public/523.cfm

2.9 here. Ooops.

[PA Engineer]

2.9 here. Ooops.

Thanks for posting the additional info. I had triglyceride issues my entire life ranging from 600 to 800. My HDLs were not that great either. Years ago I went on a very low carb diet regiment. For me it was the safest way to drop triglyceride levels. Now my range is 50 to 60. The ratio is now 1.7 versus 24.

2.9 is not really that bad.

[Leo Carpathian]

Dr Gupta had on his program revealed that it is not the cholesterol LDL level value, but size of the particles. Larger particles are good, small are bad, they stick to the walls of arteries and cause clogging and hearty attacks.

[bigfootwave]

Have your wife try the diet at
http://www.heartattackproof.com/
or http://www.drmcdougall.com/

I removed meat, oil and dairy from my diet and my standing heart rate went from 78 to 44. Much easier for your heart to pump blood when there is not sludge floating in your veins ;)

No meds, no asthma, no heart problems, no obesity, all with simple change in diet. Our bodies heal themselves if given a chance.

4 years now, medicine free and never felt better.

[CaptainK]

I’m a woman despite by Freeper name.
But I don’t drink so I’ll have to cross my fingers and hope for the best.