Cholesterol: A Patient Conversation Cholesterol homeostasis is essential to our

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Cholesterol: A Patient Conversation

Cholesterol homeostasis is essential to our overall health. What if you had to go to a health care provider because your cholesterol was too high? Have you ever been to a doctor’s office and had a doctor or nurse communicate with you using large, “scary” words you did not understand? Similarly, have you ever had a mechanic speak to you about the inner workings of your car’s engine using jargon you did not understand? The important issue is to return your cholesterol to normal levels and thus bring your body back into homeostasis, but what if you cannot understand what the provider is telling you?

You are a Physician’s Assistant and you are set to meet with a patient to talk about his cholesterol panel. The patient, Mr. Brown, is a 56 year old male who leads a largely sedentary lifestyle. He has admitted, in a previous visit, that his favorite activity is sitting on the couch and eating snacks while watching sports. He has also expressed concerns that you would try to drastically change his lifestyle (which he does not want to do) if his tests came back high.

The panel that came back on Mr. Brown contains the following results:


Test

Result

Triglycerides

145 mg/dL

Cholesterol

210 mg/dL

HDL

33 mg/dL

LDL

160 mg/dL


• Report the results to Mr. Brown – be sure to tell him his exact numbers. • Interpret the results for Mr. Brown – are the results normal? Abnormal? What are the normal/abnormal ranges for each test? • What are triglycerides? • What is cholesterol? • What are LDL and HDL? • Where is cholesterol produced? • What are the causes of high cholesterol? • What are the treatments for reducing high cholesterol? • What are the side effects of medication for treating high cholesterol? • Do the benefits of lowering cholesterol outweigh the risks of taking medication? • What options exist for a person to try and reduce his/her cholesterol without taking medication? • How would you alleviate any fears Mr. Brown may have regarding his condition? • What recommendations would you make to Mr. Brown knowing his concerns? • What approach would you take to encourage him to make any necessary lifestyle changes?
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Submission Guidelines

• 3-4 pages (approximately 900–1200 words not including title page or references), double- spaced, typed, 12-point Times New Roman font. • You may choose to write your paper in the format of a script (like a movie or television show) • Use simple terminology and avoid jargon • Use real-life analogies to explain the issues • Provide references in APA format as appropriate

Explanation / Answer

Cholesterol is a fat, waxy like substance that is present in almost all the cells of the body. Cholesterol is synthesised in liver and also obtained from fatty foods. It is essential for formation of hormones, vitamin D and adipose tissue. When present in excess, it gets deposited in blood vessels of heart, brain and other vital organs leading to lot of diseases like coronary artery disease, stroke etc. The cholesterol levels in blood should be less than 200 mg/dL and triglyceride levels to be less than 150 mg/dL.

LDL cholesterol stands for low density lipoproteins. It is considered as a bad cholesterol because it transports triglycerides from the liver to different parts of the body. High LDL levels cause atherosclerosis in blood vessels. LDL levels should be less than 130 mg/dL.

HDL cholesterol stands for high density lipoprotein. HDL cholesterol is considered as a good cholesterol since it transports triglycerides back to the liver. The normal levels of HDL cholesterol in blood should be more than 60 mg/dL.

Therefore, Mr. Brown has high cholesterol and LDL levels in his blood. Further, HDL levels are low. So, there is a need to decrease his cholesterol and LDL levels. This can be achieved by changing his life style and medications.

Lipid lowering drugs like statins can be used to lower cholesterol levels. Certain life style changes are listed below,

Health education and counselling should be given to Mr. Brown explaining him about the ill effects of having high cholesterol and the ways and means to avoid it. He should be encouraged to engage himself in some sort of physical activity like walking, jogging, dancing etc.

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