What's your family history like? If you have high cholesterol due to genetics you might have less of a problem than you think. There's a lot more to it than just numbers.

My family has high cholesterol, the whole family. However, almost none of my family has any history of strokes or heart problems. My grandmother was told that she had probably had high cholesterol her entire life, at age 94. I don't think she ever weighed over 110 pounds in her life. I have the lowest cholesterol of anyone in my family but it's still high. I exercise every day and am very careful about my diet and I've never gotten it below 200. It usually sits around 220 with a 50 hdl or so. But given my family history my doctor doesn't see any reason to treat it.