Midori Hanzawa writes:

        These two patients have one interesting similarity. They eat too much high-cholesterol food. Ice cream, eggs, fatty meats and cheese are considered high-level cholesterol food.

        But they show contrasts in other points. First, it is their life style. Patient A does not have the habit of doing exercise, but Patient B has this habit. And Patient B has a habit of smoking. The second point is their current condition. Patient A has a subjective symptom, that is, chest pain. And his arteries are narrow, and his LDL level is higher than normal. In general, high cholesterol means you have a high risk of heart disease. The combination of his high LDL level and his chest pain create a dangerous risk.

        Patient B does not have concrete symptoms now. She shows a normal cholesterol level in her arteries. But she is overweight and she has a family history of diabetes. So she has a possibility of suffering from diabetes in the future.

        So I suggest the following to these two patients.

        Patient A - He has to change his diet to reduce his LDL level. He has to eat more vegetables and fruits and fiberrich foods and stop eating fatty food like fried meat. And it is better for him to eat fish rather than meat. And doing exercise is a useful practice for him.

        Patient B - I suggest the same thing for B's diet. If she wants to eat bread, she should exchange fiberrich grain bread for white bread. To lose weight is most important for her. And quitting smoking is necessary. These things are good not only for preventing heart disease but also preventing other diseases.

         

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