Cholesterol

I just got some bad news on my cholesterol level. Last time, I was at close to 200 for the first time in my life. My paternal kin and I have hereditary hypercholesterolemia and untreated levels in the 300s. Lipitor was beginning to pay off. This time, I was back up to 273.

I think my mistake was having the test taken so close to my return from a week long visit to Georgia where I ate biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, barbecue and good southern cooking for every meal.
I am hoping that I will return to a better level on my next test. Meanwhile, I am going on a different medication and am going to try something radical- diet and exercise and less alcohol intake.

I need to take this seriously. My father started having his heart attacks when he was not much older than I am now, and he now has a debribrilator/pacemaker installed in his chest to keep him going. If his heart rate gets too slow, it jolts him back to life with a sensation that the old man likens to "being kicked by a mule". He is only 70 years old and otherwise healthy, but the damaged heart thing really puts a cramp in his style.

His brother is a marathon runner whom I secretly call "Uncle Zero Percent Body Fat". A youthful 67 years old and in fabulous shape, he has to take statins lest his cholesterol get over 300. The difference between my uncle with his good heart and my dad with his bad heart may well be the statins. I would hate to think that my uncle's exercise and healthy diet made that much of a difference.