Coumadin and Lipid Clinic
Cholesterol
Why is cholesterol important?
Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting heart disease. High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. A risk factor is a condition that increases your chance of getting a disease. In fact, the higher your blood cholesterol level, the greater your risk for developing heart disease or having a heart attack. Heart disease is the number one killer of women and men in the United States. Each year, more than a million Americans have heart attacks and about a half million people die from heart disease.
What do your cholesterol numbers mean?
Everyone age 20 and older should have his or her cholesterol measured at least once every 5 years. It is best to have a blood test called a "lipoprotein" to find out your cholesterol numbers.
-
Total cholesterol
- LDL (bad) cholesterol - the main source of cholesterol buildup and blockage in the arteries
- HDL (good) cholesterol - helps keep cholesterol from building up in the arteries.
Note: by having a lipoprotein profile done, you will know how your numbers compare to the table on the panel below.
| Total Cholesterol Level |
Category |
Less than 200 mg/dL |
Desirable |
200 - 239 mg/dL |
Borderline high |
240 mg/dL and above |
High |
| LDL Cholesterol Level |
Category |
Less than 70 mg/dL |
Optimal |
77 - 99 mg/dL |
Near optimal/above optimal |
100 - 129 mg/dL |
Borderline high |
130 - 159 mg/dL |
High |
160 mg/dL and above |
Very high |
What affects cholesterol levels?
A variety of things can affect cholesterol levels. These are things you can do something about:
- Diet
- Weight
- Physical activity
- Smoking
Things you cannot do anything about also can affect cholesterol levels. These include:
- Age and gender
- Heredity
What should I eat?
Choose foods low in saturated fat like lean meats (chicken, turkey, veal and beef) with excess fat trimmed, and fresh or canned fish packed in water. Do not fry or bake in butter or shortening. Egg whites, all fruits, most vegetables, dried beans, whole grain breads and pasta, multi-grain cereals, skim milk, low fat yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, vegetable oils such as safflower, soybean, and corn, desserts prepared with skim milk, and unbuttered popcorn are all acceptable foods.
Limit alcohol to no more than 2 beverages a day.
Remember larger amounts of cholesterol are found in foods from animals like fatty cuts of meat, poultry with skin, whole milk dairy products and lard, and tropical oils like coconut and palm oils.
Coumadin Information
Some medical conditions can make blood clot too easily or too quickly. This could cause serious health problems because clots can block the flow of blood to the heart and brain. Coumadin (warfarin) is a medication prescribed for people at high risk of forming blood clots because it can prevent harmful blood clots from forming.
Blood clots are formed by a series of chemical reactions in your body. Vitamin K is necessary for the body to make clots. Coumadin works by decreasing the activity of vitamin K, resulting in a longer time for a clot to form.
What can you do to keep your bleeding time within a desired range?
- Take the correct dose of Coumadin at the same time each day
- Keep vitamin K intake consistent from day to day
- Watch how often you eat vitamin K foods
- Watch the portion sizes of vitamin K food
- Do not eat more than 1 serving of foods high in vitamin K per day
- Do not eat more than 3 servings of food moderately high vitamin K per day
Foods high in vitamin K - limit to one 1/2 cup serving a day
- Brussel sprouts
- Turnip greens
- Collard greens
- Kale
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Broccoli (raw or cooked)
Foods moderately high in vitamin K - limit to three 1/2 cup servings a day
- Ice Burg Lettuce
- Red cabbage (raw)
- Cooked soybeans (dry)
- Green tomato (raw)
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Scallion
- Seaweed
Note: Make your health care provider aware of any herbal supplements you are taking. Herbal supplements can affect bleeding time.