Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance made in the liver and found in certain foods, such as from animals, like dairy products, eggs, and meat. The body needs some cholesterol in order to function properly. However, too much cholesterol can increase a person’s risk of developing heart disease. There are several factors that contribute to high cholesterol — some are controllable while others are not.

Uncontrollable High Cholesterol Risk Factors:i

• Gender: After menopause, a woman’s LDL-cholesterol level (“bad” cholesterol) goes up, as does her risk for heart disease.
• Age: Your risk increases as you get older. Men aged 45 years or older and women aged 55 years or older are at increased risk of high cholesterol.
• Family history: Your risk increases if a father or brother was affected by early heart disease (before age 55) or a mother or sister was affected by early heart disease (before age 65).

Controllable Risk Factors for High Cholesterol Include:

• Diet: The saturated fat and cholesterol in the food you eat raise total and LDL-cholesterol levels.
• Weight: Being overweight can make your LDL-cholesterol level go up and your HDL level go down.
• Physical activity/exercise: Increased physical activity helps to lower LDL- cholesterol and raise HDL-cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) levels. It also helps you lose weight.

A lot of people don’t take the risks of high cholesterol very seriously. After all, one out of five people have high cholesterol. A staggering 50% of Americans have levels above the suggested limit. Could something so common really be a serious health risk?

Unfortunately, yes. Cholesterol is a direct contributor to cardiovascular disease, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks.

“Despite all of the amazing medicines and treatments we have, cardiovascular disease is still the number one cause of death and illness in our society,” says Laurence S. Sperling, MD, director of preventive cardiology at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga.

The World Health Organization estimates that almost 20% of all strokes and over 50% of all heart attacks can be linked to high cholesterol.

But if you’ve been diagnosed with high cholesterol, don’t despair. The good news is that high cholesterol is one risk factor for strokes and heart attacks that you can change. You just need to take action now, before your high cholesterol results in more serious disease.

All About High-Risk Cholesterol Numbers

When it comes to high cholesterol risks, it’s tough to keep the details straight. We might have a vague idea of whether our cholesterol is “good” or “bad,” but we forget the actual numbers by the time we get to the parking lot outside our doctor’s office. So it may be worth reviewing the basics.

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance circulating in your blood. Some of your cholesterol comes from the foods you eat. But the bulk of it is actually made in your own body, specifically in the liver. Cholesterol does have some good uses. It is needed to make some hormones and it is important for the function of our cells. But an excess of it in the bloodstream can lead to trouble.

Cholesterol comes in several different forms, but doctors focus mostly on two: LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol.

• LDL is also called “bad cholesterol” — Sperling suggests that you think of the “L” as standing for lousy. LDL cholesterol can clog your arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Most people should aim for a level of less than 100 mg/dL. However, people who already have heart disease may need to aim for under 70 mg/dL.
• HDL is “good cholesterol.” Imagine the “H” stands for healthy, Sperling suggests. This type of cholesterol attaches to bad cholesterol and brings it to the liver, where it’s filtered out of the body. So HDL cholesterol reduces the amount of bad cholesterol in your system. You should aim for 60 mg/dL or higher.
• Triglycerides are not cholesterol but another type of fat floating in your blood. Just as with bad cholesterol, having a high level of triglycerides increases your risk of cardiovascular problems. Aim for a level of less than 150 mg/dL.

So although we all talk about high cholesterol risks, the term is a little misleading. What we really mean is high levels of bad LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and a low level of good HDL cholesterol.

Realizing the Risks: How Harmful Is High Cholesterol?

Everyone has cholesterol in their blood. But if your levels of LDL are too high, the excess can accumulate on the walls of your arteries. This build-up of cholesterol and other substances — called plaque — can narrow the artery like a clogged drain. It can also lead to arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which turns the normally flexible tissue into more brittle.

Plaques can form anywhere. If they form in the carotid artery in the neck, it’s carotid artery disease. When they form in the coronary arteries — which supply the heart muscle with blood — it’s called coronary artery disease. Like any organ, the heart needs a good supply of blood to work. If it doesn’t get that blood, you could get angina, which causes a squeezing pain in the chest and other symptoms.

There are other high cholesterol risks. If these plaques break open, they can form a clot. If a clot lodges in an artery and completely chokes off the blood supply, the cells don’t get the nutrients and oxygen they need and die.

If a clot gets to the brain and blocks blood flow, it can cause a stroke. If a clot lodges in the coronary arteries, it can cause a heart attack

article source : www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management

picture source : http://articles.mercola.com

Tags: Cholesterol

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