Private MD News

Patients should talk to their doctors about their cholesterol levels

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Experts say that individuals should talk to their doctor about cholesterol testing as understanding one's cardiovascular risk factors is key to improving them and avoiding potentially serious health complications.

Dr. Mary Dohrmann, a cardiologist at University of Missouri Healthcare, told the Columbia Tribune that individuals should ask their doctor to explain where their cholesterol levels should be and how high their blood pressure can safely go, and find out if their numbers are within healthy ranges. This may help determine if lifestyle changes are needed.

"The doctor's responsibility is to make you aware of your risk. The patient needs to get connected with some type of heart-healthy lifestyle-change program," Dohrmann told the news source.

The American Heart Association states that individuals can improve their cholesterol test scores by eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of exercise and avoiding smoking. If these factors fail to produce results, taking statin medications may help further improve cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol levels are well within a person's ability to control. However, they must first know that their levels are too high. Cholesterol testing plays an important role in this.