Hepatitis C may have done one good thing for me. It may have lowered my cholesterol for a while–or maybe being cured ramped it up.

In a 2009 study from Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers found that a significant number of people who are cured of hep see their LDL (low density lipoprotein, known as bad cholesterol) “rebound to levels associated with increased coronary disease risk.” That seems to have happened to me. My cholesterol was on the low side of normal before my treatment, but after the virus cleared it jumped into the danger zone. Here’s a chart I obtained from my ehealth, a website that reports on patients’ medical tests in British Columbia:

The chart shows an early 2014 blood test I had  before I was treated with direct-acting antivirals that summer. The next three dots on the chart show my bad cholesterol after my treatment and cure.

I may have inherited a propensity to high cholesterol from my dad. He died of heart failure, and I have no other risk factors. Perhaps, as research suggests, hepatitis C may have lowered or stabilized my inherited build up of cholesterol. The liver eliminates cholesterol through bile, and the liver changes after treatment. There’s a possibility that my liver, which regressed from fibrosis, never regained strength in cholesterol clean-up.

I’m no longer worried about my liver, but I’m worried about my heart. It’s time to get out and exercise, get rid of fatty food, and keep on top of this new health risk. Those who have been cured of hepatitis C still need to be tested–for cholesterol.