High Triglycerides           Triglyceride goal: less than 150

What are triglycerides and why are they important?

Triglycerides are formed when your body metabolizes fat.  They may predict

            your chances of developing heart disease even better than cholesterol

            levels.  They are part of the fatty plaque build-up in the arteries that leads

            to heart attack, stroke, and periferal vascular disease.

What causes high triglycerides?

            Genetic predisposition

            Poorly controlled diabetes

            Hypothyroidism

            Certain medications

            Excessive alcohol

            Overweight       

            High fat diet

            Recent fatty meal

What can I do to lower my triglycerides?

            Aerobic exercise

            Maintain a healthy weight

            Any degree of weight loss

            Higher fiber, lower fat diet, lower carbohydrate diet

            Treat other medical problems like diabetes

            Increase the amount of fish in your diet

What treatments are available?

            Omega-3-fatty acids (fish oil) 2000 – 6000 mg per day

            Fibrates (Gemfibrilzol, Fenofibrate, Tricor)

            HMG-Co A reductase inhibitors (Lipitor, Pravachol, Lovastatin, Crestor, etc)

            Niacin

How do I know if I have hypertriglyceridemia?

            If your triglycerides are very high, you may have symptoms:

pancratitis, trigyceride deposits in the skin, triglycerides deposits in the eyes

Everyone should have their triglycerides, cholesterol, and good and bad

 cholesterol checked every five years after age 20.

What should my triglycerides level be?

            If you have other risk factors for heart disease (diabetes, hypertension, smoking,          

                        family history, blockage of arteries, heart attack) your triglycerides should

                        be below 150.

            If you do not have other risk factors for heart disease, you triglycerides should be

                        Below  200, but you should still try to change your lifestyle to lower

Triglycerides to less than 150.