Q: I am a 61 years old retired teacher. Recently I went for a routine lipid profile test without having any clinical indication. I got it done under my son's insistence as a precautionary and preventive test suiting my age group. I do not suffer from any cardiovascular disease or for that matter any other illness. My reports says - total cholesterol: 81 mg/dl (range 150-200); triglyceride: 21 (range 50-150); HDL: 48 (range 40-60); LDL: 29 (range 60-100); VLDL: 4 (range 14-30); total cholesterol/HDL: 1.7 (range 4.0-5.0); LDL/HDL: 0.6 (range 3.0-4.0). I want to know the reason for such below normal values, what is the danger and do I need to take any precautions? I take a balanced diet and do regular exercise. My BP is 120/70 and random blood glucose is 123 mg/dl.

A:Your lipid levels are abnormally low. I hope you are not on any lipid lowering agents like statins. If not, I will advise you to first repeat the tests. It may be due to some error in diluting the blood sample, etc. If the levels are still so low, it may be worth getting an evaluation done by a physician to look for causes like malabsorption, etc. One thing is clear that your chance of developing a cardiovascular problem is extremely low.