Hi Docs,
I’m a 29 year-old male. 6’1" 215 lbs. Waist circumference is ~ 34". I am in generally good health and meet/exceed the standards of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. My diet is usually pretty good - plenty of lean protein, adequate amounts of vegetables and fiber, and I try to limit my saturated fat intake (though I do have a sweet tooth and eat some “junk” food like burgers and pizza and whatnot here and there). I do not currently use any tobacco products.
I recently read Austin’s two part article about cholesterol, in addition to some other resources, after getting my lipid panel results back (had bloodwork done upon starting with a new PCP after not seeing one for about 5-6 years). I just wanted to make sure my reading comprehension was sound - is it correct that low HDL cholesterol itself, independent of other values being outside of normal ranges (e.g. high HDL), doesn’t cause cardiac risk? My lipid panel results are below. My HDL was labeled as being low and a “CARDIAC RISK.” All other values were considered to be within normal ranges.
Total Cholesterol = 159 mg/dl
HDL Cholesterol = 55 mg/dl
LDL Cholesterol = 95 mg/dl
Triglyceride = 46 mg/dl
VLDL = 9 mg/dl
I was naturally fairly panicked about the cardiac risk label, but I ended up feeling more miffed than anything after reading about HDL cholesterol - especially when pretty much every resource I read listed “low” as <40 mg/dl, well below my value of 55 mg/dl. My follow up appointment ended up getting rescheduled, so I won’t be able to ask my PCP for a couple more weeks, so I thought I’d run these numbers by you all. Should I be concerned? Am I, a non-MD, missing something here or is the “cardiac risk” label a bit overblown?
Thanks!