Understanding Elevated ALT (SGOT) Levels: A Cholesterol Patient's Concern

Question
I am a 44 year old male. I have been taken medication to control my cholesterol level for these last three years. I am currently taking '40mg sinvastatin' and 'one lypanthyl 145mg' daily. I have managed to control my cholesterol level and during my last lab test, the total HDL Cholesterol ratio was 3, #HDL:1.17mmol/l# and #LDL:2.44mmol/l#.  However in my lab tests results I noticed that my 'ALT #SERUM#' result was '71 HI u/l' when the benchmark is between 10-50.  Does this mean that I have liver disease or is the result of 71 within limit even if higher than normal? My previous lab test results for ALT Serum was also high 80 H u/l and this was about a year ago.  I am not taking any other medications and I do not smoke or drink alcohol. I train 2 times a week in martial arts and do some strenuous physical exercises. Just for information I also take two capsules of Seven Seas Fish-Oil joint care daily.  Your remarks would be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Lawrence.  It's common for certain medicines to raise ALT (which is a liver enzyme) levels, especially one of the medications you listed - sinvastatin (Zocor).  All of the "statin" drugs, commonly used for lowering cholesterol, will also cause an increase in ALT.  This rise in ALT would go back to normal if you would discontinue the medicine.  But your doctor will probably just monitor your ALT level, as long as the Zocor is controlling your cholesterol.

Samantha