Managing Your Cholesterol after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant

This video explains why you may develop high cholesterol after your allogeneic stem cell transplant. It also explains the health risks of having high cholesterol and what you can do to improve your cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that's made in your liver. It's found in every cell of your body. Your body needs it to make your cells work. But too much cholesterol can cause health problems.

High cholesterol, also known as hyperlipidemia, means you have high levels of fats in your blood. Fats are also known as lipids.

Having high levels of fats in your blood can make your arteries narrow, which means not all the blood can get through. They might even be blocked completely. The fats can also stick to the walls of your arteries, making them hard.

There are three types of lipids. Low-density lipids, usually called LDL, are bad cholesterol. High-density lipids, usually called HDL, are good cholesterol, and triglycerides.

It's important to get your cholesterol checked as instructed by your healthcare provider. To get your cholesterol checked, you have to go at least eight hours without eating. This is called a fasting blood test.

The results of your fasting blood test will help you understand your risk for heart problems and stroke.

Normal levels of LDL cholesterol are less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). HDL cholesterol is greater than 60 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) , and triglycerides are less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

High levels of LDL and triglycerides and low levels of HDL can make it more likely for you to get heart disease or have a heart attack or stroke.

You are less likely to have heart problems if your total cholesterol is lower and your HDL is higher. Your ratio of total cholesterol to HDL should be less than 4 to 1.

As many as half of allogeneic stem cell transplant survivors have abnormal cholesterol levels. You are more likely to have high LDL and triglycerides and low HDL if you had total body irradiation, you smoke, or if you have taken medications such as tacrolimus, sirolimus, cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, also known as MMF, or prednisone.

Having low testosterone levels after transplant can also make men's triglyceride levels go up.

It's important to understand the risks of high cholesterol and even more important to do what you can to prevent and manage your cholesterol levels.

Improving your eating habits is a great place to start. For every 1% you reduce your total cholesterol level, you reduce your risk of heart disease by 2%. This means even a small change can help.

Since your body makes all the cholesterol you need, you don't need to eat any food with cholesterol in it. In fact, every 100 milligrams of cholesterol you eat adds about 5 points to your total cholesterol level.

Cholesterol is in all foods that come from animals, such as red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products, and some processed and packaged foods.

Eating lean cuts of meat may not be enough to control your cholesterol levels because cholesterol is mainly found in the lean parts. Also, many people are surprised to learn that chicken contains as much cholesterol as beef.

Most shellfish, such as shrimp and lobster, are also very high in cholesterol.

Eating foods low in total and saturated fat is an important way to lower your cholesterol. Many oils contain saturated fat, so you should limit how much oil you use.

Whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits are good to eat because they all have very little fat and no cholesterol.

A recent study showed that when people switch to a low-fat diet that has beans, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables for just two weeks, they lowered their total cholesterol by 11%.

Eating a diet high in fiber can also lower your cholesterol. Oats, barley, beans, and some fruits and vegetables are all good sources of fiber. Try to eat 40 grams of fiber every day.

Following the recommendations in this video can help you lower your LDL and triglyceride levels and increase your HDL, the good cholesterol.

If you have heart problems already, you might be able to make them go away by eating the foods recommended in this video, exercising regularly, managing your stress, drinking less alcohol, and quitting smoking and other tobacco.

You may find it helpful to try a goal-tracking app online or on your smartphone to stay on track with your health goals. You can find suggestions for these apps under the diet and fitness section of MSK's library website. You can reach this site directly by typing: libguides.mskcc.org/mobile-patient in your search bar.

You can find heart healthy meal ideas by going to www.mskcc.org/pe and typing heart healthy in the search bar on the right of your screen.

For more information about your heart health after allogeneic bone marrow transplant, visit www.mskcc.org/pe. There, you can find written information, such as Managing Metabolic Syndrome After Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant, as well as more videos.