so it sounds like you are still doing well and the high combined number is irrelevant - but if you are concerned, call and ask to speak to the doctor about it.
it is a bit weird that they combine the number - maybe it's left over from the olden days before they realized that you want your HDL to be high. wasn't there a time when doctors only looked at the combined number? also, you are probably unusual, and probably most people who have a high combined number have high LDL as compared to their HDL. probably looking at the combined number gives a decent estimate of health in light of the typical ratio. kinda like using the BMI to test obesity. considering most people's level of muscle development, it often gives a decent estimate of body fat. however, as we all know, when someone is very muscular the BMI test is misleading and actually will suggest that a very fit person is very unfit. i bet looking at the combined number for cholesterol is similar to using BMI.
I'm thinking it might be left over from a long time ago when they only looked at total numbers. Being anal, things like this just bother me, just like people looking at scale weight to determine how healthy they are.
Yikes is right! That would scare me, too. I had similar results like you and my doctor wasn't very concerned about it, too. But it worried me (both my parents had heart problems and high blood pressure). I drank Noni Juice and upped my Omega-3 intake. The following year, my cholesterol dropped 30 points!
so it sounds like you are still doing well and the high combined number is irrelevant - but if you are concerned, call and ask to speak to the doctor about it.
it is a bit weird that they combine the number - maybe it's left over from the olden days before they realized that you want your HDL to be high. wasn't there a time when doctors only looked at the combined number? also, you are probably unusual, and probably most people who have a high combined number have high LDL as compared to their HDL. probably looking at the combined number gives a decent estimate of health in light of the typical ratio. kinda like using the BMI to test obesity. considering most people's level of muscle development, it often gives a decent estimate of body fat. however, as we all know, when someone is very muscular the BMI test is misleading and actually will suggest that a very fit person is very unfit. i bet looking at the combined number for cholesterol is similar to using BMI.
I'm thinking it might be left over from a long time ago when they only looked at total numbers. Being anal, things like this just bother me, just like people looking at scale weight to determine how healthy they are.
My doctor called to make sure I understood all the results.
I think what caused the increase was that I stopped eating super