I got the following lab results yesterday:
TOT                222
HDL                 71
LDL                136

I wish to know if the 2d doppler echo test is good enough to identify
carotid artery block . What are the other safe methods available today .
What are the symptoms on which a doctor come to a conclusion that a
doppler test is necessary as the normal stethescope way is no good to be

LDL = Total Cholesterol - HDL - (Triglycerides divided by 5)
Is the above an accurate formula?
Is there any other way to measure/compute LDL?
And what is the significance of VLDL ?

Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2005 Oct 13;
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/utils/lofref.fcgi?PrId=3051&uid=16224050&db=p
ubmed&url=http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=reprint&pmid=16224050
Urso ML, Clarkson PM, Hittel D, Hoffman EP, Thompson PD.
Department of Exercise ...

Have what has been termed "benign afib" ( never had any prob's with it -
won't cardiovert ) . I have a 170 LDL, with only a 34 HDL. Could this be a
potential problem that would need some work ? I am a 64 year old, otherwise
healthy, male.

I wholeheartedly believe in clinical trials to further progress in
medical practice--I abhor the manipulation of statistics, data
reporting or lack of, etc.  the following is a guide in how to cheat in
clinical trials with examples from current studies:

I find my hypertension very unstable after I became T2 diabetic . My
diabetes is very much on the control with Metformin - twice daily .
Recently I was advised 1500 grams of calcium after bone density scan .
I find my BP is normal in the mornings and slowly builds up during

Dr. Chung, Thank you for your reply on PACs.. I have another question
pertaining to the size of enlarged hearts. Is there a number or grading
system that applies to enlarged hearts. I recently saw a post at the
Cleveland Heart Forum for information on an enlarged heart in which a

I read on DrFishOil website, that fish oil can reduce the possibility
of heart attacks.  Is this true?

Can coronary calcification measured by CT predict future coronary
events?
Manu Prabhakar and Dennis T. Ko
Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook and Women's Health Sciences Centre,

There has been a lot of publicity surrounding Homocysteine in recent
months, raising crucial questions regarding the role of this factor.
I would like to put the following questions to the group:
1./

Regards, Ranko

My mother ( 65 years old ) has high blood pressure.
She was prescribed Enalapril, but it not tolerating this drug  ( or any
) very well ( has nausea ).
Are there any blood pressure lowering drugs that can be taken as

Can anyone tell me if there is a test that can be done to determine
whether or not somebody did indeed suffer a minor stroke, that may have
occurred a few years back.  Thanks in advance for your time and effort
regarding this question.

Can cocaine, meth, or other stimulants cause MVP?