Cardiologist Dr. Paul D. Thompson, MD, explains what a person with high cholesterol should keep track of from day to day: diet, weekly exercise, and saturated fat, plus, in his lighthearted closing advice, their mood.
Daily Habits With High Cholesterol
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Diet and exercise to keep an eye on
Daily monitoring with high cholesterol does not need to cover everything, Dr. Paul D. Thompson, MD, tells Dr. Anton Titov, MD. He says to monitor diet, while noting that cholesterol medicines are powerful enough to overcome modestly bad diets. He thinks everybody should have an exercise regimen and cites the European Society of Cardiology and US agencies: 150 minutes a week of moderately vigorous exercise such as brisk walking, about 22 minutes a day, or 75 minutes of more vigorous exercise such as jogging.
Saturated fat and mood
Saturated fat is the other thing he watches. He advises avoiding the milk and meat of animals as much as possible. Because modern medicines lower heart disease risk so much, he tells people not to worry and to monitor their mood every day.
Full Transcript
Dr. Anton Titov, MD: What should I monitor day to day if I'm living with high cholesterol?
Dr. Paul D. Thompson, MD: What everybody should do every day if they are living with high cholesterol is have a good day every day. You do not need to monitor everything. You need to monitor your diet.
Dr. Paul D. Thompson, MD: But the drugs are so powerful that they can overcome modestly bad diets. So I do think people should exercise. I think everybody should have an exercise regimen.
Dr. Paul D. Thompson, MD: The recommendations, both from the European Society of Cardiology and from the US agencies here, are that you should get 150 minutes of moderately vigorous exercise per week. 150 minutes per week, so it is only about 22 minutes a day. Moderately vigorous exercise is brisk walking, not strolling, but brisk walking, or 75 minutes of more vigorous exercise like jogging. So you should monitor your exercise level.
Dr. Paul D. Thompson, MD: You should try not to overdo the saturated fat. Remember, you can eat anything from the sea except the cow that fell in. You want to avoid the milk and meat of animals as much as possible because they deliver saturated fat.
Dr. Paul D. Thompson, MD: But in general, we can control cholesterol. It is amazing how much we can lower the risk of heart disease with these new modern medicines. So I tell people, "Do not worry, be happy." So they should monitor their mood every day.