Charlotte, NC
Swotantra Gautam, MD
Lumanti Manandhar, BPH
Cholesterol is a waxy material found in the human body. The blood carries cholesterol around in it. Cholesterol isn’t necessarily always bad. It is required for the body to create new cells, but having too much cholesterol might be harmful. The risk to your health grows as your blood’s cholesterol level climbs. It is crucial to have your cholesterol checked to determine your levels. Your heart’s health can be significantly improved by maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. It may reduce your risk of developing heart disease or suffering a stroke.
Do you want to know about your risk factors for high cholesterol disease? Certain medical disorders, your way of life, e.g., a sedentary lifestyle, and your family history might increase your risk for high cholesterol. They are referred to as “risk factors.” Some risk factors, like age or family history, are beyond your control. But by changing the things you can control; you can reduce your risk for high cholesterol.
High cholesterol and associated illnesses, such as heart disease, may be brought on by eating a diet rich in saturated and trans fats. Lack of physical exercise can cause weight gain, resulting in elevated cholesterol. Find out more about ways to include more exercise in your day. Your blood vessels are harmed by smoking, which increases the likelihood of fatty deposits forming there. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels may be decreased by smoking. Non-modifiable factors such as having a family history of high cholesterol put you at risk of developing high cholesterol. With age, everyone’s chance of having high cholesterol increases. Our systems can less easily remove cholesterol from the blood as we age. Higher cholesterol levels result from this, increasing heart disease and stroke risk. People with type 2 diabetes, people who are obese, and who follow a sedentary lifestyle are at more risk of high blood cholesterol.
Typically, high cholesterol has no symptoms. This is why it’s essential to have your doctor do a quick blood test to monitor your cholesterol levels. A blood test called a “lipid profile” or “lipid panel” will reveal your HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and total cholesterol levels.
Your doctor may use a variety of variables to forecast your 10-year or lifetime risk for a heart attack or stroke, including your total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol(https://tools.acc.org/ascvd-risk-estimator-plus/#!/calculate/estimate/). Your doctor will consider the findings of your cholesterol test together with your age, sex, and family history to estimate your cardiovascular risk. The test results will indicate your cholesterol levels in milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL). Your outcomes may be impacted by being ill or under stress and using particular medications.
High-Density Lipoproteins: HDL helps your body eliminate cholesterol, so people do not clog arteries. High levels of HDL lower your risk of heart attack, stroke, and other heart problems. Your doctor will estimate your heart attack or stroke risk by looking at your HDL cholesterol levels, total cholesterol levels, and other variables. Smoking, Type 2 diabetes, being overweight, physical inactivity, and genetic factors can all affect HDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol levels in women are typically greater than in males. However, this might alter after menopause. It would help to have an HDL cholesterol level of at least 40 mg/dL. The lesser your risk, the higher the number. You are thought to be protected against heart disease at 60 mg/dL or above.
Low-Density Lipoprotein: LDL deposits bad cholesterol into the blood vessels carrying blood to your heart and other body parts. Over time, this may cause arteries to narrow or get blocked, which can cause heart attack, stroke, or any heart problem. A Low LDL is seen as beneficial for your heart health because LDL is undesirable cholesterol.
Triglycerides: The most common form of fat in your body is triglycerides. They are obtained through food and are also produced by your body. High LDL and low HDL levels are typical in people with high triglycerides. High triglyceride levels are common in those who have metabolic syndrome or diabetes. Age and sex affect normal triglyceride levels differently. Triglyceride levels may be raised by factors such as obesity or excess body weight, diabetes mellitus or metabolic syndrome, drinking alcohol, consumption of too much sugar, particularly from processed meals, high consumption of saturated fat, hypothyroidism, long-term kidney disease, physical inactivity, pregnancy (particularly in the third trimester), inflammatory conditions (such systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis) and as a result of several drugs.
Total blood cholesterol: The sum of your HDL and LDL cholesterol levels plus 20% of your triglyceride level yields your total blood cholesterol.
Treating high cholesterol typically involves a combination of lifestyle changes and medication. Prevention involves:
Healthy- Heart diet
A heart-healthy diet with seafood rich in omega-3 fatty acids can help lower the risk of heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrest, and stroke.
Increasing your physical activity
Anything that gets your body moving and burns calories is considered physical exercise. This includes stretching, stair climbing, and walking-your heart rate increases during aerobic (or “cardio”) exercise.
Your doctor may prescribe one of these medicines to help lower high blood cholesterol.
Statins
Statins are the most common medicine used to treat high blood cholesterol. Studies have shown that statins lower the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with high LDL cholesterol. Statins usually don’t cause side effects but do not come without risks. Some patients complain of extreme weakness and myalgia after starting statins. Statins may also cause abnormal results on liver enzyme tests, but actual liver damage is extremely rare. Other rare side effects include muscle damage.
Talk to your doctor if you experience any side effects while on statins. Your doctor can stop the statins entirely or change the type of statins prescribed to see if you tolerate the other kind of statin. Statins may raise the risk of diabetes. However, this mainly happens in people already at high risk of diabetes, such as those with prediabetes who are overweight, obese, or have metabolic syndrome.
Ezetimibe
Ezetimibe may also be used if statins cause side effects or if statin treatment and lifestyle changes do not sufficiently lower your “bad” LDL level. In rare cases, these medicines can cause liver injury.
Bile acid sequestrants
If you cannot take statins or need to lower your cholesterol even more than a statin alone, your doctor may prescribe bile acid sequestrants.
Bile acid sequestrants help bile acids, which aid in fat and oil digestion, stay in the intestines rather than being reabsorbed. This medication may cause diarrhea, reduce the effectiveness of other medicines, or raise your blood triglyceride level.
PCSK9 inhibitors
PCSK9 inhibitors are injected under your skin every 2 to 4 weeks. If you are at high risk of complications such as heart attack or stroke, or familial hypercholesterolemia, your doctor may prescribe a PCSK9 inhibitor and a statin. The most common side effects are itching, pain, or swelling at the injection site.
Historically, it has been recommended that blood samples for lipid testing should be obtained after an 8- to 12-hour fast. Fasting means that people can have nothing to eat or drink except water for at least eight hours before the test. Triglyceride levels were modestly higher in the non-fasting samples. But, we have enough evidence that the differences in their total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol values are negligible, and it doesn’t matter whether the profile test was done after a fasting state or not. Fasting may be risky in some older people and those with diabetes, whose blood sugar levels may dip too low. Fasting is not a requirement to get blood cholesterol levels checked. Skipping the fasting requirement makes cholesterol tests simpler.
The American Heart Association recommends that all adults check their blood cholesterol levels every 5 years. People over 45 years of age shoot take cholesterol tests every year. However, if one has a family history of high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or thyroid problems, one needs to get tested more frequently. If you are starting a medication affecting cholesterol levels, your doctors may require a lipid profile to monitor cholesterol levels while on treatment.
Q. High cholesterol only affect older adults?
Ans: This is false, as high cholesterol can affect people of all ages.
Q. High cholesterol is only caused by eating too much-saturated fat?
Ans: While saturated fat can contribute to high cholesterol, other factors such as genetics, age, and lifestyle can also play a role.
Q. High cholesterol is always bad?
Ans: While high levels of LDL cholesterol, also known as “bad” cholesterol, can increase the risk of heart disease, high levels of HDL cholesterol, also known as “good” cholesterol, can have protective effects.
Q. High cholesterol can be cured?
Ans: High cholesterol is a chronic condition that can be managed through lifestyle changes, such as a healthy diet, regular exercise, and medication.
Q. Eating cholesterol-rich foods can increase cholesterol in the blood?
Ans: Cholesterol found in foods has a negligible effect on blood cholesterol levels. It is mainly influenced by the amount of saturated and trans fats in the diet.
