You run the risk of developing heart and blood vessel problems including heart attacks, strokes, and vascular dementia if you have high cholesterol. Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in your blood. It is naturally produced by the liver. Everybody has cholesterol. We need it to sustain our health since it is used by every cell in our body. The meals we eat contribute to the production of some of this cholesterol. You have high cholesterol if there is a lot of it in your blood. As a result, your risk of heart and circulatory diseases including heart attacks and stroke may increase.
TWO MAIN TYPES OF CHOLESTEROL
There are two main types of cholesterol: dangerous cholesterol and healthy cholesterol. Your health may suffer if your “bad” cholesterol levels are high. Your blood’s proteins carry cholesterol. When proteins and cholesterol are combined, lipoproteins are produced. The term “good” cholesterol is often used to refer to high-density lipoproteins, or HDL. This is due to the fact that it cleans your blood of “bad” cholesterol. It sends extra cholesterol back to the liver. The liver breaks it down so that your body can eliminate it.
Non-high-density lipoproteins are another name for the non-HDL or “bad” cholesterol. This is because if there is a lot of it, it could build up inside the blood vessel walls. Your chance of having a heart attack or stroke increases as a result of the arteries being narrowed and clogged. The term “bad” cholesterol is sometimes referred to as LDL cholesterol. This was once the main sign of high blood cholesterol, but today we are aware of the dangers of various types of non-HDL cholesterol.
TRIGLYCERIDES
The kind of fat known as triglycerides is also found in our blood. This is kept in the body’s fat cells. You have a higher chance of having a high triglyceride level if you consume a lot of fatty and sugary meals while being excessively overweight. Triglycerides can also cause the walls of your arteries to thin, increasing your risk. If you detect it on the results of your cholesterol test, your doctor will be able to tell you whether it is too high. Normal amounts of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol can coexist with a high triglyceride level.
EFFECTS
Non-HDL take cholesterol from the liver to the cells around your body. Too much bad cholesterol (non-HDL) can be harmful because it sticks to the inside walls of your arteries. This can lead to fatty material (atheroma) building up – this process is known as atherosclerosis. It makes it harder for blood to flow through, which can lead to a heart attack or a stroke. If your total cholesterol is high, it can mean that you have a lot of bad (non-HDL) cholesterol in your blood. A high level of good (HDL) cholesterol can help keep that bad cholesterol in check and remove it from your body.
CAUSES
Anyone may get high cholesterol, and a number of things can make it worse. You can have an impact on certain things, such as your lifestyle decisions, but not others. As long as you take care of the things under your control, you may contribute to lowering your risk.
Things that cause high cholesterol you can control:
– eating too much saturated fat
– not being active enough
– having too much body fat, especially around your middle.
– smoking can lead to high cholesterol levels, and the build-up of tar it causes in your arteries makes it easier for cholesterol to stick to your artery walls.
SYMPTOMS
It is vital to have your cholesterol tested because elevated cholesterol typically has no traditional symptoms. It happens without our knowing until it is too late since it is a hidden risk factor.