Triglycerides

triglycerides Question?

When I went for my annual check up my bp was fine...and so was my LDL's & HDL's but my triglycerides were on the high side. My doc said not to worry. Is this normal?

Public Comments

1. Well.....High Triglycerides are linked to several things.... "Triglycerides and the risk of stroke Studies have linked high levels of blood fats called triglycerides to an increased risk of strokes (1). When the researchers accounted for other risk factors for strokes, people with more than 200 mg of triglycerides per dl of blood were nearly 30% more likely to have an ischemic stroke or TIA than people with lower levels of triglycerides. Ischemic strokes, which occur when a blood clot or narrowed artery cuts off the brain's blood supply, account for about 80% of all strokes. The other 20% of strokes are caused by a rupture in blood vessels in the brain. High triglycerides and the low levels of HDL - the 'good' - cholesterol which usually co-exist are important risk factors for the main type of stroke - ischemic strokes - among patients with heart disease. It is important to note that triglycerides are only really accurately measured after an 8 to 12 hour fast. It is believed that the triglycerides/HDL ratio is one of the most potent predictors of heart disease. It is generally considered that if this number is below 2 the person is generally at a low risk of heart disease. So, the lower your triglycerides, or the higher your HDL, the smaller this ratio becomes. Several studies (2,3) suggest that the level of triglycerides in the blood may help predict heart attack risk as accurately as other, more well-known, blood fats such as HDL and LDL cholesterol levels. High triglycerides alone increased the risk of heart attack nearly 3-fold, according to a report in a 1997 issue of "Circulation" (3). And people with the highest ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol had a risk of heart attack 16 times higher than those with the lowest ratio of triglycerides to HDL in this study of 340 heart attack patients and 340 of their healthy, same age peers. "The ratio of triglycerides to HDL was the strongest predictor of a heart attack, even more accurate than the LDL/HDL ratio," reported the Harvard lead study author." Lookup more at... http://www.healingdaily.com/conditions/triglycerides.htm All the best