Average Acceptable levels - Seniors

[JIMNSC]

Are there any average acceptable levels of total, LDL and HDL for seniors?

It seems to me as another poster put it - everyone is an individual and there are individual reasons their cholesterol is what it is. Everyone in my family had high cholesterol, consequently I do too. My father refused to take statin drugs because of the "possible" side effects and he died of Leukemia when he was 86. He never had a stroke or heart attack.

I guess what I'm saying is, I do not believe you can come up with one number like 200 or 160 and tell everybody to shoot for that number. It's kind of like smoking. You can't just make a blanket statement that cigarettes cause cancer. If that were true eveybody that smokes will get cancer. I believe some smokers are just more prone to cancer than others. Same thing with cholesterol.

Any thoughts?

[Guest]

I agree, but I don't think you can compare cholesterol with smoking. There are NO benefits from smoking. Unlike cholesterol. The fact that not everyone who smokes gets cancer simply indicates that smoking is not the ONLY cause of cancer, but nothing is the only cause for anything. Yes, smoking is well known to cause cancer and by several mechanisms. It is addictive too, unfortunately, unlike statin drugs, so smokers are going to try very hard to find excuses and rationalizations so that they can continue smoking.

[catamaran]

The last measurement of "cholesterol" in my system was 287mg/dl...a perfectly normal reading for me. The range of the concentration has run from 275 to 324 over the last four decades. Ultrasonographs of my carotid arteries and abdominal aorta at five bifurcations show minimal deposits of atheromatous plaque in four areas and one area of moderate deposit. My present age is 72 and I don't expect to die of heart disease.

I believe a recent review of the Framingham studies that led to the purported cholesterol/heart disease link has shown that the data had been turned on its head; the data revisited indicated that the higher one's cholesterol levels the longer one lived and the better one felt, particularly older women.

It seems odd to me that a compound essential for one's existence can be considered "toxic"....

EDIT, FWIW:

The third ultrasonographic examination of my carotids after 36 months on high-dose vitamin C, 10 grams per day, has resulted in a most interesting development: The the thickness of the intima of my carotid arteries has increased significantly with no reduction in arterial elasticity or reduction of the area of the lumen! For all intents and purposes I have younger and stronger carotids than I did three years ago!

[JIMNSC]

"It seems odd to me that a compound essential for one's existence can be considered "toxic"....

Me too!

I'd give anything had I noticed "Guest's" post back in December as I would have responded. I, in no way, would ever condone smoking. I do not smoke and can't even stand the smell of them. I just used smoking as an example of it not being a death sentence for 100% of the smokers. I was not comparing cholesterol to smoking at all.

[catamaran]

[quote] I just used smoking as an example of it not being a death sentence for 100% of the smokers. I was not comparing cholesterol to smoking at all.[/quote]

I'm at odds with the consensus on cigarette smoking....common sense says that smoke inhalation from any source is not healthy, but I believe the panic over cigarettes is without merit.

Some dietary experts claim, with supporting evidence, that 1 gram of vitamin C (VC) will quite well negate the adverse effects of one cigarette; assuming this to be true, one would get all the VC one could handle if one smoked a pack-a-day

[strayze]

My trips to the internist always turn into a struggle on cholesterol. He thinks I must be on statin drugs on the basis that my total circulating cholesterol is to high. The hitch is that the too high part is caused by my high levels of HDL which have always been that way. I'm in the "90's" on HDL score, and normal in LDL and triglyceride. I do not drink alcohol and take no scripted drug that would raise cholesterol. Since high HDL is associated with one of the autosomal dominant longevity genes, I'm not about to want to reduce the HDL. The AHA does not address this aspect of "cholesterol numbers", probably because this situation of high HDL is not common. No member of my family has had heart problems traditionally associated with too much cholesterol.

If there were really a reason to go on statins, I would consider it. I did, after all give the cholesterol lectures to the freshman medical students at the University I retired from. (I realize this does not make me an absolute expert, but I know something about it.) Since internists in my area who take Medicare are rare and are absolutely necessary if one wants to use the services of the local hospital, say for breast CA surgery, then I am forced to placate the internist by being silently obstinate.

[gotts1936]

The question was, Cholesterol level - what is normal? The individual named guest changed this question to a smoking one. Unfortunately, guest appears to be an anti-smoking crazy. Until anti-smoking crazies can explain individuals who are in their 90's and are still alive after smoking for 60 or 70 years they should shut up.
No one knows what normal cholesterol levels should be for any particular individual, period. It is all guess work.

[gotts1936]

Obviously, the anti-smoking crazies can not respond to my post and the same goes for cholesterol crazies. No one should give up their freedom to smoke or be a red meat eater until they die.