My tolerance for testing cholesterol has gotten alot lower in the last 2
months.  The 36 year old wife of one of the ministers in our small
town(2,500) up and died at 2AM one night of an acute heart attack (documented
by autopsy).  She did not smoke, her blood pressure was normal, she had no
family history of heart disease, she was never in our clinic except for her
prenatal visits or to bring in one of the seven kids.  Oh yes and she breast
fed all of them.
Unfortunately, because she was so "healthy" she never had a rountine
screening for Cholesterol.  As she was a home schooling mother and had a "do
everything" attitude she may of been experiecing warning symptoms of angina
and never told us or her husband.  We plan to screen her childrens'
cholesterol now to see if they are normal, elevated or markedly.
elevated.  Keep in mind that cholesterol tests are screening tests, I high
value can be related to pregancy/lacation but if noted to be high then should
be the springboard to look into the situation further and she if further
testing is needed/desired.  A treadmill exercise test is not perfect but is
the next step to evaluate a dangerously high cholesterol and stress test the
heart to see if there is any sign of myocardial hypoxemia when the workload
increases.

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*Jon Ahrendsen, MD, (FAAFP, LLLI Medical Associate) *
*215 13th Ave., SW                                     *
*Clarion, IOWA 50525 USA                                                   *
*Phone (515)-532-2836, FAX    (515)-532-2523              *
*Email:  [log in to unmask]                                                     *
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