These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT be used as recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An individual patient is always advised to consult their own physician.
Triglycerides
Question: Do you have any information on combination cholesterol lowering agents for use in a patient presently on Mevacor with a Cholesterol level of 238, but a Triglcerides level of 920. Are there any better choices?
Answer: A recent addition is Lipitor which is the first HMG, Co A to be approved for lowering triglycerides. I’d try this first. If the triglycerides are still too high, addition of niacin or lopid can be tried. However, they tend to have additive liver toxicity and must be watched very closely.
Triglycrides
Question: What are triglycrides? How do they enter the body, and in what foods? What is the best way to lower their levels? My triglyceride level is 320 and my cholesterol is at 173. Where can I obtain additional information on them? How much is really know about their effect?
Answer: Triglycerides are manufactured by your body in the liver. They are also absorbed with almost any ingested fat as long chain triglycerides. Consequently, a low fat, high fiber diet will reduce the amount entering your body. There is much medical debate concerning triglycerides. Finding a direct correlation between high levels and vascular disease has been difficult. Extremely high levels (5000 or higher) can cause pancreatitis. There is also a good correlation between a high triglyceride level and the eventual development of diabetes mellitus (a known cause of vascular disease). Three hundred is not especially high, but can be reduced by weight loss and a low fat diet. There are lipid lowering agents, especially niacin, lopid and the newer lipitor which lower triglycerides. I would focus more on cholesterol. Also, this is one test that is very influenced by food. Accurate levels can only be obtained after a 10 to 12 hour fast.
