Medical Author: Dennis Lee, M.D.
I am sure many of you have been reminded by doctors, nurses, and public health officials to lose excess weight,quit smokingcigarettes,exerciseregularly, and eat less saturated fat and sweets. Here is a real life example of how effective these measures can be.
Mr. DT is a healthy and active 50-year-old man. He exercises six days a week. He does not smoke cigarettes. He tries to hold down fat andcholesterolintake; he only cheats on weekends and holidays. He is slightlyoverweight(only 12 pounds heavier than ideal body weight). His mildhigh blood pressurehas been well controlled with an oral medication called an ACE inhibitor. There is no family history of anyheart disease.
Last week, he asked his doctor for a complete blood panel that includes cholesterol andtriglyceride levels, since he has not had one for more than a year. The nurse who drew his blood first noticed there was something wrong; Mr. DT's serum was abnormally discolored. Before performing blood chemistry measurements, she had to spin the blood sample in a centrifuge to separate the red and white blood cells from the serum. Normal serum is clear yellow in color. But Mr. DT's serum was pink and milky. Milky serum indicates excess chylomicrons (protein complexes that contain high amounts oftriglyceridesand cholesterol).
实验室报告第二天早上Mr. DT's cholesterol is elevated at 260mg/dl, but more importantly his triglyceride level was 2,500 mg/dl! Normaltriglyceride levelsshould be less than 150mg/dl. His good cholesterol (HDL) is abnormallydepressedat 20 mg/dl. These cholesterol and triglyceride levels not only increased his risk of developingarteriosclerosisof the arteries, the sky hightriglyceridesput him at risk of developingacute pancreatitis- a painful, serious inflammation of the pancreas.
他的医生在placin没有浪费时间g him on a strict low saturated fat and low sweetsdiet, along with a medication that lowerstriglyceridesand increases HDL. Over the weekend Mr. DT adhered faithfully to the prescribeddietand the medication without cheating. Yes, he walked away from tiramisu,chocolatecheesecake, mud pie, and fried calamari.
The doctor called Mr. DT into his office Monday morning for a repeat blood test, only three days into treatment. This time, his cholesterol had dropped down to 211 mg/dl, his HDL had risen to 44 mg/dl, and most impressively his triglyceride level had dropped from 2,500 to 35 mg/dl.
Granted, such rapid response to treatment is unusual. Most of the time we do not enjoy such dramatic and satisfying treatment results. But this case did teach me three lessons:
- Periodic bloodlipidtests should be performed even when you feel fine.
- Faithfully adhering to the diets prescribed by your doctor can make a big difference. (Also don't forget that regularexercise,quit smokingcigarettes, and losing and maintaining excess weight are also important).
- Do not despair if you have unfavorable cholesterol and triglyceride numbers. Work diligently with you doctor to get them right!
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