The Harvard Medical School Guide to Lowering Your Cholesterol

Freeman M.W.0071466274

High cholesterol concerns many people today, and Dr. Freeman’s guide to understanding the disorder and its treatments fills a niche for patients wanting more information. Alan Sklar’s deep voice never mispronounces a single word in the audiobook’s extensive medical vocabulary. By speaking slowly, he aids the listener’s ability to absorb uncommon words and concepts, which don’t have everyday equivalents: reductase inhibitors, phytosterolemia, and chylomicrons. By skillfully varying his pitch and volume, Sklar minimizes sleep induction. Since the author is a university-based researcher, one must understand that his scientific completeness – for example, including drugs’ generic names – may fly over the heads of some in a general listening audience.

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Table of contents :
EEn……Page 1
The Harvard Medical School Guide to Lowering Your Cholesterol……Page 2
Copyright Info……Page 4
Dedication……Page 5
TOC……Page 6
A Heart Attack at Twenty-Four?……Page 10
Three Hundred Is a Healthy Cholesterol Level?……Page 11
The Truth About Cholesterol……Page 12
Acknowledgments……Page 16
1 – Understanding Cholesterol: The Good, the Bad, and the Necessary……Page 19
A Lipoprotein by Any Other Name……Page 20
You Mean My Body Makes Cholesterol?……Page 22
The Other Source: Diet……Page 27
Why You Need to Know……Page 30
What Is Heart Disease?……Page 31
How Heart Disease Happens……Page 35
What a Heart Attack Feels Like……Page 39
What to Do if You’re Having a Heart Attack……Page 41
A Heart Attack Plan……Page 43
3 – If You Know You Have Heart Disease……Page 45
Medications……Page 46
Procedures to Open Blocked Arteries……Page 52
Alternative Remedies……Page 60
Choose the Treatment That’s Right for You……Page 62
Unavoidable Risk Factors……Page 63
Avoidable Risk Factors……Page 68
Emerging Risk Factors……Page 84
How Heavily Should You Weigh Any Risk Factor?……Page 97
5 – When You Visit Your Doctor……Page 101
Inaccuracies in the Tests……Page 103
When to Treat Cholesterol……Page 108
Step 1: Considering Your Cholesterol Levels……Page 110
Step 2: Determining if You Have Heart Disease or Diabetes……Page 113
Step 4: Calculating Your Heart Attack Risk……Page 114
Step 5: Finding Your Treatment Category……Page 115
Step 6: Determining Your Treatment……Page 120
Personalizing the NCEP Guidelines……Page 124
Benefits of Adopting a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle……Page 127
Your Cholesterol-Lowering Diet……Page 128
What About Dietary Cholesterol?……Page 144
Finding the Diet That’s Right for You……Page 145
The Benefits and Risks of Execise……Page 147
A Program to Get You Started……Page 149
Fitting Exercise into Your Life……Page 156
Designing the Right Program……Page 158
Sticking with Exercise……Page 159
8 – Drug Treatment……Page 163
Reductase Inhibitors (Statins)……Page 164
Other Drugs……Page 182
How to Save Money on Drugs……Page 189
Elevated Triglycerides……Page 193
A Problem in Two Parts: High LDL and High Triglycerides……Page 197
Low HDL……Page 202
If You’re a Senior……Page 205
If Your Child Has High Cholesterol……Page 209
If You Have Heart Disease……Page 211
If You Have Diabetes……Page 212
Increasing HDL Levels……Page 215
High-Tech Scans……Page 217
Over-the-Counter Statins……Page 221
Genetics, Lipids, and Heart Disease……Page 223
Progress Takes Time……Page 225
12 – Alternative and Complementary Approaches to Lowering Cholesterol……Page 227
Coenzyme Q10……Page 230
Plant Sterols and Stanols……Page 231
Policosanol Alcohol……Page 234
Red Yeast Rice……Page 235
Guggul……Page 236
Soy Lecithin……Page 237
Vitamins C and E……Page 238
The Bottom Line……Page 240
Afterword……Page 241
General……Page 243
Smoking Cessation……Page 244
Saving Money on Drugs……Page 245
Nutrition……Page 246
Index……Page 249