Cholesterol and Inflammation

Most people have their cholesterol checked on a yearly basis. This consists of your total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. I'm sure your doctor takes a glance, tells you that you could probably benefit from a statin and goes to write the prescription. I highly doubt, however, that they are checking your inflammation levels. 

What is inflammation and why do we care? 

Inflammation is a natural process our body goes through to heal injury or illness. Our immune system sends our white blood cells to fight pathogens or outside invaders. Common external signs of this process include swelling, redness, heat, and sometimes pain. Inflammation is an important process of healing... as long as it is acute! We run into issues when our inflammation is chronic or ongoing. Chronic inflammation can be caused from diet, food sensitivities, stress, trouble sleeping, high blood sugar, and even hormonal imbalance. 

What does inflammation have to do with cholesterol? 

The main worry with high cholesterol levels or heart disease is that we will have a heart attack or stroke, however, your need both abnormal cholesterol levels and inflammation to cause a cardiac event. The higher your inflammation level is, the higher the chances are to develop chronic diseases, gain weight, have gut issues, and even have a heart attack. When someone has both high inflammation and high cholesterol that is what we call in medicine a "ticking time bomb." 

How do I check my levels? 

The basic cholesterol levels I mentioned above should be checked annually at a minimum but there are actually much more in depth tests for cholesterol now. I have a partnership with Cleveland Heart Clinic where I developed a custom panel that is truly comprehensive for prevention of heart attack and stroke. I go into far more detail that the 4 basic lipid markers. We test for particle size, oxidation levels, inflammation markers, plaque activity, and more. I am even able to give you a score based on your risk for a cardiac event. I recommend getting this panel twice a year. 

What if I have high levels? 

If your cholesterol and inflammation levels come back high on basic labs I would get the in-depth cholesterol testing. Do not go for the statin prescription right away! My advanced labs allow us to pinpoint where the issue is with your cholesterol and determine if a statin would even be beneficial for you.

Did you know that even if your bad cholesterol (LDL) is elevated it isn't necessarily dangerous??

You need to be able to see the particle sizes to be able to distinguish if a prescription is required. I am proud to say I have not had to prescribe a statin to any of my clients thus far and we are able to bring their levels into normal range through diet and lifestyle management! This is true preventive care.

Ready to get your levels checked? 

Email me about getting your in-depth cardiac panel. I would recommend this before the holidays if possible because what you eat, weight you gain, etc will absolutely influence these levels. This is available to all my clients, even if you don't live in Florida!

Stay Healthi,

Hannah