Cholesterol Test?

[JerseyGyrl]

My SO had an appointment yesterday with a cardiologist. He had a stress test the end of Nov which showed he has NO sign of heart disease, or blockage, that the blood flow in the vessels supplying the heart are normal. But showed he MAY have LV (left ventrical dysfunction) what it means is that the left part of the heart, that pumps oxygenated blood to the body MAY not be quite pumping like it should. Theres some calculation called "ejection fraction" which determines how well its pumping, normal is between 50% to 55%, depending on who is doing the test, his is 48%, which is only slightly low. The good news is, the cardiologist confirmed the test was perfectly normal

He was also diagnosed with high cholesterol. The cardiologist is now suggesting a test...that I believe is in the experimental stages (NOT covered by insurance) ...it supposedly determines if cholesterol is built up on artery walls and is done by ultrasound. Has anyone ever heard of this or had this test? Is it really necessary when the stress test showed no signs of heart disease or blockages??

[sallyseachange]

Can't say I've ever heard of this test. Does your DH have any symptoms? What took him to the cardiologist in the first place?

[JerseyGyrl]

Sally,

His Dr suggested he see the cardiologist because when he had the stress test they thought he MAY have LV (left ventrical dysfunction)...turns out he doesn't have that
His cholesterol is high and the Dr. suggested this test to find out if he has a build up of cholesterol in the artery walls. I've never heard of the test either.

[sallyseachange]

Ah, gotcha! Glad to hear he doesn't have the left ventrical dysfunction.
Keep us posted on the results of this "mystery" test.

[JerseyGyrl]

They thought he MAY have LV dysfunction...however, they confirmed he does not They also stated his stress test indicated absolutely no signs of heart disease, or blockage, that the blood flow in the vessels supplying the heart are normal He does have high cholesterol. When I made my original post, I was confused The Dr. suggested a vascular screening...specifically a cartoid scan to check for plaque. Is this really necessary

[kate58]

I don't think anyone here would be in a position to say whether or not it is necessary. We are not doctors, and even those who are couldn't make any comment on a patient they had never seen.

Ok, now I am going off on a bit of a rant........ which may or may not be helpful!!

I have a problem with the phrase "diagnosed with high cholesterol" - I'm not picking you up on it, because it is a commonly used phrase.

You are diagnosed with a disease. High cholesterol in and of itself is NOT a disease, though it is increasingly spoken of as though it were.

It may or may not be an indicator that there is a disease state present. However it is positively not a disease state in and of itself.

The capacity of cholesterol levels to predict existing or future heart disease is often believed to be almost 100% - that is, if your cholesterol is high and you don't already have heart disease, then as sure as eggs are eggs you will soon. But it isn't anywhere near 100%, nowhere in that region at all.

One of the most surprising sections in Gary Taubes book was the one on cholesterol and on the evidence to back up its treasured place in our medical systems. When you look at the actual evidence supporting the place of cholesterol as an indicator of heart disease it turns out to be at best scanty and at worst not really there at all.

I can't remember the exact details and don't have the book here, but studies which report that those who devloped heart disease first showed raised cholestorl often fail to report that just as many people who had raised cholesterol, or in some cases even more, did not go on to develop heart disease. Nor do they report, or at least they don't give much attention to, the fact that lots of people whose cholesterol was normal did develop heart disease. It's anything but a clear picture.

It's even worse if you happen to be a woman, since pretty much all the studies have been done on men. This is in spite of the fact that what studies have done comparing men and women show huge and striking differences between them. And worse still the studies of the drugs used to treat this 'disease' of raised cholesterol are all done on men - women are actually ineligable for the testing/trial processes.

To me that simply means that women taking cholesterol lowering drugs are essentially taking untested drugs. But is there a drug company out there who will let that small detail get in the way of profit?? And the profits being earned from these drugs is truely outside the capacity of human imagination it is so large. It's shameful however that regulatory authorities continue to approve for use drugs, and not just these ones, which have never been tested on women.

The money made from the Cholesterol bandwagon doesn't stop at the drug companies though. The medical profession have learned that telling a patient their Cholesterol is raised, even slightly, has the immediate effect of giving the doctor/hospital/health provider instant and ongoing access to a bucket of money. More blood tests more often, more expensive investigative procedures, more scans and more office visits. It's a merry-go-round that never ends and that is a massive income producer at every level of the health services.

Sure, some of it is necessary, very necessary but how much? There's the rub - how the **** do you decide when it comes to an individual person - you or someone you love - what is real and what is a smoke screen?

That unfortunately is your position.

I sympathise hugely, it's very hard to apply all this to an individial person, and in fairness probably equally hard for an individual doctor working within this system to do so. The system is there, and it is much, much easier for them to do a ridiculously excessive (and very expensive) amount of investigation on a patient that to not do it and run the risk of being accused later of not doing enough. And if the doctor is in a position as difficult as that, how much harder is it for us to say "No, enough".

OK rant over. Sorry it can't be a more black and white picture.

[JerseyGyrl]

Originally Posted by kate58

The money made from the Cholesterol bandwagon doesn't stop at the drug companies though. The medical profession have learned that telling a patient their Cholesterol is raised, even slightly, has the immediate effect of giving the doctor/hospital/health provider instant and ongoing access to a bucket of money. More blood tests more often, more expensive investigative procedures, more scans and more office visits. It's a merry-go-round that never ends and that is a massive income producer at every level of the health services.

Kate...thank you SO much for your post!!! I could not agree with you more!

Thank you for mentioning Gary Taubes book...I am definitely looking into getting that & reading it!

Since my SO has been told (notice I am not using the word "diagnosed" ) his cholesterol is high, the endless merry-go-round you mentioned began immediately. Lipitor was instantly prescribed ($$$). This was done via a phone call from the Physician's Assistant, not even from the Dr. himself But, that is another issue entirely To make a long story short, he is not taking the medication and is trying to get his numbers down with lifestyle changes in his diet, exercise & supplements.

Thank God, his stress test showed NO sign of heart disease or blockages and blood flow supplying the vessels to the heart are all normal. They thought there MAY be LV (left ventrical) dysfunction and suggested he see a cardiologist, which he did earlier this week. He does NOT have LV dysfunction...the test was completely normal. During his appointment, the cardiologist asked about any medications he's on...he is not on any medications. He stated what he is doing to get his cholesterol numbers down rather than taking the Lipitor. This is what prompted the cardiologist to suggest he have a vascular screening, specifically cartorid artery, checking for plaque. As you said...not to run the risk of being accused of not doing enough later. Round & round we go...cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching!!

And there you have it, the end of my rant!