High cholesterol means you
have a lot more cholesterol in your blood than you need. Most people who have
high cholesterol don’t have any obvious symptoms. A simple blood test can tell
you if you have high cholesterol. If you do have high cholesterol, dietary
changes, exercise, and targeted medications can help lower it and reduce your
risk of developing heart disease.
Cholesterol is carried in your blood
by proteins, and when the two combine they're called lipoproteins. The two main
types of lipoprotein are:
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL) – which carries cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver, where it's either broken down or passed out of the body as a waste product. For this reason, HDL is referred to as "good cholesterol" and higher levels are better.
- Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) – which carries cholesterol to the cells that need it. If there's too much cholesterol for the cells to use, it can build up in the artery walls, leading to disease of the arteries. For this reason, LDL is known as "bad cholesterol".
Why should I
lower my cholesterol?
Evidence strongly indicates that
high cholesterol can increase the risk of:
- narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis)
- heart attack
- stroke
- transient ischaemic attack (TIA) – often known as
a "mini stroke"
- peripheral arterial disease (PAD)
This is because cholesterol can
build up in the artery wall, restricting the blood flow to your heart, brain
and the rest of your body. It also increases the risk of a blood clot developing
somewhere in your body.
Your risk of developing coronary
heart disease also rises as your blood's cholesterol level increases. This
can cause pain in your chest or arm (angina) during stress or physical
activity.
If blood flow to one section of
heart muscle is blocked, the result is a heart attack. That means the heart
muscle is dying. Blood flow has to be restored fast, or there’s a risk of
permanent heart damage or death.
When plaque builds up in the
arteries that carry blood to your brain, your brain is deprived of oxygen.
Brain cells quickly become damaged and start to die (stroke). Symptoms include
sudden weakness and numbness. Depending on the area of the brain involved, you
may have trouble speaking, seeing, or moving your limbs. A stroke can cause
brain damage, disability, or death.
What causes high cholesterol?
Many factors can increase your chances of having heart problems or a stroke if you have high cholesterol. These include:
- an unhealthy diet – in particular, eating high levels of saturated fat
- smoking – a chemical found in cigarettes called acrolein stops HDL transporting cholesterol from fatty deposits to the liver, leading to narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis)
- having diabetes or high blood pressure (hypertension)
- having a family history of stroke or heart disease
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