Category Archives: LDL cholesterol

Letter from the insurance company

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Dr. Davis

Claudia got this letter from her health insurance company: Dear Ms. ——, Based on a recent review of your cholesterol panel of January 12, 2011, we feel that you should strongly consider speaking to your doctor about cholesterol treatment. Reducing … Continue reading →

Posted in LDL cholesterol, LDL particle number | 24 Comments

The LDL-Fructose Disconnect

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Dr. Davis

I believe that we can all agree that the commonly obtained Friedewald LDL cholesterol (what I call “fictitious” LDL cholesterol) is wildly inaccurate. 100%–yes, 100% inaccuracy–is not at all uncommon. This flagrant inaccuracy, unacceptable in virtually every other discipline (imagine … Continue reading →

Posted in Fructose, LDL cholesterol, Small LDL | 8 Comments

Will the real LDL please stand up?

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Dr. Davis

The results of the latest Heart Scan Blog poll are in. The question: How has your LDL been measured? The 187 responses broke down as: I have only had a conventional calculated value 108 (57%) NMR LDL particle number 35 … Continue reading →

Posted in LDL cholesterol | 13 Comments

Lies, damned lies, and statistics

Posted on April 18, 2009 by Dr. Davis

In the last Heart Scan Blog post, I discussed the question of whether statin drugs provide incremental benefit when excellent lipid values are already achieved without drugs. But I admit that I was guilty of oversimplification. One peculiar phenomenon is … Continue reading →

Posted in LDL cholesterol | 8 Comments

A Tale of Two LDL’s

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Dr. Davis

Kurt, a 50-year old businessman with a heart scan score of 323, had a : –Conventional (calculated) LDL of 128 mg/dl–Real measured LDL 241 mg/dl. Laurie, a 53-year old woman who underwent a coronary bypass operation last year (before I … Continue reading →

Posted in LDL cholesterol | 10 Comments

Triglycerides divided by five

Posted on September 3, 2008 by Dr. Davis

Here’s a bit of lipid tedium that might nonetheless help you one day decipher the meaning of shifts in your cholesterol panel. Recall from prior discussions that conventional LDL cholesterol is a calculated value. Contrary to popular opinion, LDL is … Continue reading →

Posted in LDL cholesterol | 8 Comments

Making Dr. Friedewald an honest man

Posted on August 28, 2008 by Dr. Davis

Colleen started with the usual discrepancy between conventional calculated LDL cholesterol of 121 mg/dl and the far more accurate LDL particle number (NMR) of 1927 nmol/L. Those of you following this conversation or our many conversations on the Track Your … Continue reading →

Posted in LDL cholesterol | 3 Comments

More on ASTEROID

Posted on April 16, 2008 by Dr. Davis

Since we are on the topic of the ASTEROID trial and rosuvastatin, I’d make one more point before I start to sound like I’m plugging this drug (which I definitely am not). In an informative Roundtable Discussion (open to subscribers … Continue reading →

Posted in LDL cholesterol | 3 Comments

The many faces of LDL

Posted on January 29, 2008 by Dr. Davis

Pam has an LDL cholesterol of 144 mg/dl. To most people, this means that she has a mildly elevated LDL value. Many people would respond by cutting the saturated fat in their diet. Most physicians would concur and talk about … Continue reading →

Posted in LDL cholesterol | 13 Comments

The many faces of LDL

Posted on October 3, 2007 by Dr. Davis

Ginnie came in for an opinion about her heart scan score of 393. At age 57, this put her in the 99th percentile, a high score. As usual, we did a lipoprotein analysis by NMR (Liposcience). Some numbers: LDL cholesterol: … Continue reading →

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