09-05-2012, 08:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2012, 08:18 PM by Tenet Nosce.)
(Thanks, Meerie, for the digital referral!) 
jacrob- The first thing I would recommend for your family member is to get a real sense for how much the elevated cholesterol is contributing to their risk of cardiovascular disease. This can be done with the Framingham Risk Calculator. Not infrequently, I see people whose MD is crawling up their butts to take a statin when their actual risk is about 1-2%. People usually need to see these things in black and white. Otherwise, they will generally assume that their MD is more credible and has good reason for pushing the statin on them.
That being said, the fact that your family member just had a heart attack automatically puts them in a high risk category- even if it was precipitated by an adverse reaction to a drug. That means the chances of an MD going along with a "wait-and-see-while-I-try-some-lifestyle-changes" approach is pretty much nil.
There are a bunch of things one can take to help lower cholesterol levels, like foresterol or red yeast rice or chlorella. Those are just a few. But I will second norral's approach and say start with the gut. Two reasons. Firstly, if the digestive system is not properly absorbing nutrients then the effectiveness of ANY kind of supplement intended for the blood will be greatly reduced. Secondly, because the body's natural way of eliminating excess cholesterol is through bile dumped into the gut.
Of course, without knowing all the details of your family member's case and having a full health history, it is practically impossible to make a specific recommendation with any reliability. But in my experience, starting with the gut is generally a good bet, all things considered.
EFA's are contradicted when taking blood thinners. But then again so is pretty much anything else. Unfortunately, there is a legitimate reason for this so I would probably stay away from those for now.
Also- unless your family member has specifically asked you for help chances are your well-intentions will result in a great deal of frustration and end up straining the relationship at a time when he needs your emotional support the most. If he is open to alternative therapies, you may wish to suggest consulting with a health professional trained in these things. Doctors generally don't treat their own family members, and again there is good reason for this.
jacrob- The first thing I would recommend for your family member is to get a real sense for how much the elevated cholesterol is contributing to their risk of cardiovascular disease. This can be done with the Framingham Risk Calculator. Not infrequently, I see people whose MD is crawling up their butts to take a statin when their actual risk is about 1-2%. People usually need to see these things in black and white. Otherwise, they will generally assume that their MD is more credible and has good reason for pushing the statin on them.
That being said, the fact that your family member just had a heart attack automatically puts them in a high risk category- even if it was precipitated by an adverse reaction to a drug. That means the chances of an MD going along with a "wait-and-see-while-I-try-some-lifestyle-changes" approach is pretty much nil.
There are a bunch of things one can take to help lower cholesterol levels, like foresterol or red yeast rice or chlorella. Those are just a few. But I will second norral's approach and say start with the gut. Two reasons. Firstly, if the digestive system is not properly absorbing nutrients then the effectiveness of ANY kind of supplement intended for the blood will be greatly reduced. Secondly, because the body's natural way of eliminating excess cholesterol is through bile dumped into the gut.
Of course, without knowing all the details of your family member's case and having a full health history, it is practically impossible to make a specific recommendation with any reliability. But in my experience, starting with the gut is generally a good bet, all things considered.
EFA's are contradicted when taking blood thinners. But then again so is pretty much anything else. Unfortunately, there is a legitimate reason for this so I would probably stay away from those for now.
Also- unless your family member has specifically asked you for help chances are your well-intentions will result in a great deal of frustration and end up straining the relationship at a time when he needs your emotional support the most. If he is open to alternative therapies, you may wish to suggest consulting with a health professional trained in these things. Doctors generally don't treat their own family members, and again there is good reason for this.
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