More than anything you need treatment for your cholesterol. Are you on a statin? Poor diet does not by itself lead to an LDL of 160 in a 37 year old.
male/ 37 years old/ 230lbs/ 6 feet tall/ non-smokerI've had chest pain since my late-20s. For about 12 years, I've had high cholesterol due to a rather poor diet. My total cholesterol is "borderline" high according to the ranges, at around 230 mg/dL, my LDL is usually around 160 mg/dL and my HDL is around 50 mg/dL. My blood pressure is always pretty good at around 115/78.Due to the chest pain not going away, I was sent to a cardiologist who did a whole cardiology workout: echocardiogram, loop monitor, EKG and a calcium CT scoring test. Everything came back fine and my calcium score then was "Zero" , which the cardiologist said is a perfect exam.Since then, I've been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and anxiety. I've started Zoloft, which has made my chest pain 85% better. I still get it at times, and my doctors are convinced it's my hiatal hernia creating pressure in my chest and/or pushing on my vagus nerve.Fast forward 6-7 years to today, I just really started getting my diet in gear about 2 weeks ago but just at that time before I started, I wanted to get a baseline blood work to compare. My cholesterol was the same as it usually was for the last 12 years but my primary care physician said my C Reactive Protein is 5.5 mg/L , whereas when I had it drawn years ago , it was around 3.0 mg/L. He said "you really need to focus on lowering your cholesterol. That CRP could be due to your arteries starting to narrow and atherosclerosis starting to happen.". Would the calcium score test from 6 years ago change that much in that time?I am not "fat" and have really wide shoulders so I carry my weight differently but I know I should definitely lose weight and eat better, which I definitely have been. Hearing that my CRP is now high, I am worried that there is now narrowing in my heart. Should I go back to my cardiologist and see if I can have a repeat calcium scoring test or even a CTCA?