While that may be true, I have seen heart attacks occur rarely in
individuals with low cholesterols (below 150).  ?however?, if there are
no other significant risk factors and one's cholesterol is below 150, I
would think his risk was extremely minimal--heck, some of us have to die
of cancer instead of heart trouble, it is the 2nd leading cause of death!<hehe>
--
Alvena Ferreira

http://www.***.com/
Fiance Visa page: http://www.***.com/
___________________________________________________________
€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€?

?????If we do not succeed, then we run the risk of failure.
              -- Vice President Dan Quayle????????????????
___________________________________________________________
€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??€??

: I recently participated in a research study at a local university. The study
: involved cardiac imaging with technetium at rest and after doing a treadmill
: test. The results of the study were that there was no evidence of heart
: disease, but they also did cholesterol measurements which were: total
: cholesterol 137, triglycerides 87, LDL 84, HDL 32. The HDL value is a little
: lower than normal. Previously I've had HDLs in the 36-40 range. I am a
: regular runner (20+ miles per week), thin, early 40's, male. I eat an almost
: vegetarian diet. No symptoms of heart disease. My father has angina, but he's
: 81. There's longevity on both sides. My question is this: should I worry
: about the slightly low HDL given that the total cholesterol is so low? Does
: having a lowish HDL with a total cholesterol of only 137 imply a cardiac risk
: that needs to be treated?
:
: Steve

According to Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, "Controlling Cholesterol" (Bantom Books,
1988, p. 53), with your stats for age 40-59, male, your

total cholesterol 137, triglycerides 87, and LDL 84 are in the "excellent
protection range", and in fact are way below the maxima for these ranges
(209, 121, and 140, respectively).

Your HDL 32 is in the high risk range. (> 52 is "excellent protection" and
37-52 is "moderate risk").

Your total-cholesterol/HDL ratio is 4.28, which is on the edge between
"excellent protection" and "moderate risk".

I don't know what you can do to raise your HDL's. I'm 61, and I've had
HDL's ranging from 23 to 35 over the past 10 years without any evidence
of heart disease, and I've been a lot worse on the other numbers. Since
this is just one factor of many (smoking, stress, etc.), you are
probably fine. Short of taking some sort of medicine, it looks like you
are doing everything that one should do to get a perfect score.

Jim