I met a new patient recently who was quite concerned about his cholesterol after his last doctor suggested he go on a statin. After discussing this patient’s medical history and reviewing his labs, it became obvious that he does NOT have a cholesterol problem, and certainly not one that warrants medication. This is a common scenario I run into in clinical practice, so I thought it would be useful to take a few minutes to run through some of the thought processes that a doctor should take when evaluating a patient’s cholesterol.
Without further ado, let’s delve in. Here are a few key points that are important to understand when thinking about cholesterol. Read through them, and then I’ll come back to the patient.
