Although it is by no means the only major risk factor, elevated serum cholesterol is clearly associated with a high risk of heart disease. Most doctors suggest cholesterol levels should stay under 200 mg/dl. Cholesterol levels lower than 200 are not without risk, however, as many people with levels below 200 have heart attacks. As levels fall below 200, heart disease risk continues to decline. Many doctors consider cholesterol levels of no more than 180 to be optimal. Medical laboratories now subdivide total cholesterol measurement into several components, including LDL cholesterol (which is directly linked to heart disease) and HDL cholesterol (the so-called “good” cholesterol). The relative amount of HDL to LDL is more important than total cholesterol. For example, it is possible for someone with very high HDL to be at relatively low risk for heart disease even with total cholesterol above 200. Evaluation of changes in cholesterol requires consultation with a healthcare professional and includes measurements of blood levels of total cholesterol as well as HDL and LDL cholesterol.
Cholesterol Causes
High level of cholesterol and heart-related problems has become very common today. The kind of stressful life we are living, unhealthy eating habit etc. has badly affected the level of cholesterol in our body. The main causes of high level of cholesterol are unhealthy food (junk foods, food cooked in butter and other saturated fats, soft drinks), excess intake of red meat, stress, smoking and consuming alcohol and other drugs.
The tendency to build up high cholesterol may run in families, but excessively high levels are usually the result of a poor diet high in saturated fats and calories, combined with little or no exercise. In some cases, an elevated cholesterol level may be associated with an undiagnosed medical condition, such as hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) or diabetes.
Excess weight tends to increase you LDL (bad) cholesterol level. If you are overweight and have high cholesterol levels, losing weight may help you lower it. Weight loss also helps to lower triglyceride levels as well as raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
Symptoms of Cholesterol
LDL-cholesterol in the bloodstream can settle as fatty deposits on the inside of your blood vessels. These build up over time to become scars, called plaques. LDL-cholesterol also stimulates extra cell growth in the lining of the arteries, reducing their diameter. Plaque can damage and clog the arteries, including the coronary arteries feeding the heart. This process is called atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and can result in angina (chest pain), heart attack, or stroke. High levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol cause more plaque buildup and increase the risk of heart attack.
There are no perfect symptoms as routine check up with your blood is the only criteria that can warn you. Those people who are obese, above 35 year of age, certain diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, hyperthyroidism etc must check their blood for lipid profiles and cholesterol. However if one has chest pain, numbness in the body, shortness breath should go for blood checking as these could be the signals for having high cholesterol.
Tiredness on slightest exertion, difficulty in climbing the stairs, unable to jog or run are the silent features and are to be evaluated by means of checking the cholesterol level in the blood.
High Cholesterol Treatment
Take low fatty diet
Do regular exercise in morning and evening both
Avoid meat products
Do not smoke and drink alcohol
Loose weight if obese
A low fat/low cholesterol diet and exercise are essential in helping to lower cholesterol and to maintain low cholesterol levels. While drug therapy is often needed to lower cholesterol, diet and exercise are additionally recommended to help the drug therapy lower and control cholesterol levels. Patients with established cardiac disease and multiple risk factors (metabolic syndrome, diabetes, or smoking) are sometimes given more intense lifestyle changes. To learn more about diet and exercise, click on the “Helping Yourself” section above.
Therapeutic Lifestyles Changes
One of the first steps to take when trying to lower cholesterol through therapeutic lifestyle changes is to start following a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. Salt intake will also need to be reduced. This diet should be accompanied by regular exercise. When a low-fat diet is accompanied by regular exercise, there will usually be weight loss for people who are overweight, which will also help in lowering cholesterol. Many people are able to lower their cholesterol levels through changing their diet and exercise habits.
