Please advise on someone with the following lipid panel being prescribed a statin: hdl=136, ldl=108, triglyc=50 total cho=248 i am 58, female, nonsmoker.

If : If those are your levels before taking any medication and there is no premature heart disease in your family and you have no high blood pressure or diabetes or heart disease or history of stroke you do not need treatment. Some people have a high HDL cholesterol and still get heart problems. But in general, an HDL level above 60 is associated with a lower risk of heart disease. Most experts do not use ratios now but look at non-hdl cholesterol (total minus the hdl) and the levels of LDL cholesterol. You appear to not need any lipid therapy with those levels.

Leave : Leave those numbers alone. True, your total is above the recommended cut-off of 200, but the reason it is 248 is primarily because your hdl(or good cholesterol) is outstanding. Anything above 60 is good and the higher the number the better. In other words, the balance between the good and bad is clearly in your favor. Assuming you do not have diabetes, heart disease, or a history of stroke, if you were in my office i would smile at you and say "keep up the good work and. . . . Can i borrow some of your hdl?" just kidding.