Helped Over 500,000 patients with 98%+ satisfaction.

Connect & Get Personalized 1-to-1 Answers from Expert Doctors

DoctorSpring > Question Home

Elevated cholesterol and anxiety

Resolved Question:

I have a cardiology question.

I am a 42 year old female, good blood pressure, not overweight. My cholesterol is considered elevated but not high (5.8).

About 12 months ago during a routine eye exam with an optomitrist I had a retinal xray. He noted there wwre signs of high cholesterol shown by some dots on the xray. He said this was normally seen in people with very high cholesterol. I went for a blood test and the results were as noted above. My gp at that time did not seem terribly concerned and recommended a follow up test in the future.

Due to the recent death of a friend I am now terribly worried about this and have seen by gp again who has referred me to get new bloods and have a stress echocardiogram.

I am so very concerned that I may have plaque floating around my body or brain and am at suddent risk for a heart attack or strock. I aslo suffer from anxiety which makes it even worse.

I am hoping you could provide some comment,

Thanks.



Category: Family Physician-GP

Ask Your Own Question

Category: HIV- AIDS Specialist
 31 Doctors Online

Hello,

Thank you for choosing DoctorSpring.


For a person like you with no significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease (I assume you do not smoke either), a value of 5.8 mmol / l Total cholesterol level is near normal. You need not be overly concerned about this just because there was some sings in the retinal examination. This is eye finding is a observational finding and it does not mean all your arteries have plaques.

However it is better to look into the Cholesterol levels and take action if needed. The good thing is that there are very efficient and safe medications if needed. I would like to know whether you have done a Lipid Profile - (Detailed Cholesterol levels which include HDL, LDL, VLDL, TC in addition to Total Cholesterol values.) If so please share the values. You can reply as a followup.

Hope this helps
Feel free to ask followups.


Patient replied :

Thank you for that - was under the impression that the retinal plaque indicated high liklihood of plaque in all other aeteries. One thing I fid not mention is that my father had bypass surgery at 56 but Inam assuming my gender and age make me a little different ?


Hello,

You have mentioned that " He noted there were signs of high cholesterol shown by some dots on the xray." This is the tricky part here. If this was any pretty evident cholesterol emboli or Hollenhorst plaque I am pretty sure that this the Optometrist would have alerted the Ophthalmologist and your Physician. Also your GP has commented that it is ok. So most likely these are suspicious findings. But if you can get the exact report it will helpful

Now In my opinion this has to be considered as a warning sign. But your total cholesterol is not elevated into any dangerous levels. Nevertheless you should do a complete Lipid Profile (TC, HDL, LDL, VLDL). I am not sure how feasible a repeat opthalmic examination is, but if possible do get it done. This is because if there is a real emboli or plaque you will require some additional testing also.

Your risk is lower than your Father's because of your age and sex. But I would say do no bank of the statistical risk,as it is pointless on an individual level.

Hope this helps
Do keep me posted. Feel free to ask followups.
Thank you


Dr. Jaydeep Tripathy
Category: HIV- AIDS Specialist
Experience: 
MBBS from Sri Ramachandra University in December 2011
M.Med (Family Medicine) - TNMGR University, Chennai
MBA-MPH in Public Health in March 2016, SRM University
Finished AFIH in March 2016, SRM University
MRCP ( UK ), Internal Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, June 2016
Fellowship in Diabetology from Martin Luther University in January 2017

Currently Resident Physician, in MD Radiodiagnosis - Kamakshi Memorial Hospital, Chennai
Dr. Jaydeep Tripathy and 4 other Medical Specialists are ready to help you

Users who read this, also read:

Make informed and better medical decisions.

Join the 500,000 people who found a smarter, quicker way to get Answers, Recommendations & Expert Opinions.

Expert Doctors at fingertips

Recommendation on next step. Second-opinion.Multi-specialty.

Save Time

Average time for answers: 6 hours.

Save Money

$35 for typical specialist consult vs. $120 for a local appointment.

Free Follow-ups

Clarify, ask further questions for free in private conversation.

100% Satisfaction

Money back guarantee for the 1st reply. MEDNET Quality Board.

Start My Consultation

CHAT NOW

About DoctorSpring.com

Doctor Spring is a novel online Doctor consultation platform where you can get your medical questions answered by leading Doctors. Just Submit your question and rest assured that you will consult a Doctor easily. Once you submit the question, the Doctor from the concerned specialty will reply within hours. You can always ask more questions or add details with follow-up question options and make it an online doctor chat. You may use this service to consult a specialty or for getting medical second opinion. All paid services come with a MEDNET quality assurance and 100% money back guarantee.

DoctorSpring in news