A question about high cholesterol in a teen

[MamaT]

My 17yo went for a physical last week. They drew blood to test for arthritis, since he has joint pain and a strong family history. That test came back negative, but when the nurse called she said they wanted him to come in to check his cholesterol. She said his blood looked "waxy." :confused: She said that she and the doc could look at it and tell his cholesterol was high.

 

I don't know what that means. I thought high cholesterol was due to poor diet, obesity, no exercise, etc. None of those describe my son's lifestyle. He is skinny, eats a healthy diet, and is very active. What would cause an otherwise healthy teenager to have high cholesterol? He is going in the morning to have the lab work done.

[Donovans4]

high cholesterol can be related to family history. I imagine they will ask about this at your appointment.

[MamaT]

high cholesterol can be related to family history. I imagine they will ask about this at your appointment.

 

I only know medical history as far back as my grandparents. No one that I know of had high cholesterol. I guess they could have had it and been undiagnosed.

[gingersmom]

My son had one test done for high cholestrol that showed it was high (he's only 10). He exercises a lot, is not overweight, eats little/no red meat, etc.

 

I was told that when young children/teens show with high cholesterol it usually is hereditary and not because of lifestyle/food choices.

 

We waited 6 months and retested him and then again a year later and it is back to the normal range.

[MamaT]

My son had one test done for high cholestrol that showed it was high (he's only 10). He exercises a lot, is not overweight, eats little/no red meat, etc.

 

I was told that when young children/teens show with high cholesterol it usually is hereditary and not because of lifestyle/food choices.

 

We waited 6 months and retested him and then again a year later and it is back to the normal range.

 

That's good to know. I guess my mind went running to "what if this could mean something more serious." It's my job to borrow trouble. :001_smile:

[Perry]

She said his blood looked "waxy." :confused: She said that she and the doc could look at it and tell his cholesterol was high.

Had he recently eaten a fatty meal? Sometimes the blood in the tube will have a white milky layer, and it's said the sample is "lipemic". Lipemia (increased lipids in the blood) is most often associated with high triglycerides (which is a lipid, but is not cholesterol). After eating a meal really high in fat, the blood will often be lipemic, which means you can actually see the fat floating in the blood sample. In order to tell whether it was transient lipemia because of diet, or whether his triglycerides are high chronically, he needs a fasting blood test.

[Barry Goldwater]

Had he recently eaten a fatty meal? Sometimes the blood in the tube will have a white milky layer, and it's said the sample is "lipemic". Lipemia (increased lipids in the blood) is most often associated with high triglycerides (which is a lipid, but is not cholesterol). After eating a meal really high in fat, the blood will often be lipemic, which means you can actually see the fat floating in the blood sample. In order to tell whether it was transient lipemia because of diet, or whether his triglycerides are high chronically, he needs a fasting blood test.

 

Unless he fasted, it's a meaningless test, IMHO. Also, they never used to check children's cholesterol (or anyone elses) till Big Pharm came up with Lipitor, the most prescribed medicine in US...High chol in growing children could be NORMAL (I'm not a doctor, I just read a lot...and I don't like doctors!)

 

Once I had a doctor check my blood when i went in for bronchitis...he tried to convince me my chest pain might be a heart attack! I had eaten a Big Mac & Choc Shake 1 hr b4 the appt (I was in to get a prescription de-congestent, he surprised me with the blood test). My #s were sky-high (BIG MAC?). Pushed the Lipitor at me hard...I told him I had a better shot of surviving a heart bypass than a liver transplant...no thanks!

[Parrothead]

Normally when cholesterol test is run there is fasting for 12 hours prior to the test.

 

Any chance he had double greasy cheeseburger with bacon and large fries with a milkshake the day of or even the day before the original test?

[kalanamak]

Unless he fasted, it's a meaningless test, IMHO. Also, they never used to check children's cholesterol (or anyone elses) till Big Pharm came up with Lipitor, the most prescribed medicine in US...High chol in growing children could be NORMAL (I'm not a doctor, I just read a lot...and I don't like doctors!)

 

 

It depends on family history. When even female non-smokers in a family have MIs in their 30s or 40s, I would get my child checked.

 

Lipid profiles were checked prior to Lipitor, too.

 

 

A physician is one we put our hopes on when ill, and our dogs on when well.

 

-Bierce

[TravelingChris]

When I was little, two neighbors who lived near me in Arlington, VA used to bike together to work at the Library of Congress. Both were thin and in good shape. Neither smoked. They were nearly vegetarians. One had very high cholestrol and the other had no cholestrol problem. High cholestrol, heart disease,high blood pressure, strokes, etc, are often touted in media as lifestyle diseases. Yes, some of them are due to lifestyle issues but many people have circulatory problems of all kinds even if they live wonderfully healthy lives. It is one of the things I hate worse about all the media campaigns about health. My father was another of those who had heart problems but not the usual risk factors. He did not have high blood pressure nor high cholesterol nor was he overweight. He had his first heart problems in his 20;s soon after he stopped playing soccer at college and while he was still an avid mountain hiker.

 

I concur with the others and recommend that he have a fasting blood test. That should clear up the issue.