About one in six adults in the United States has high cholesterol. Even though high cholesterol is not a disease in itself, it is a risk factor leading to serious and sometimes-fatal conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke and heart attack. A person with high cholesterol has twice the risk of developing heart disease than a person with an optimal cholesterol level.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced by the liver which is required for everyday bodily function. Excessive cholesterol, however, is deposited along your artery walls, resulting in clogging and blockage of the arteries. This can cause stroke, angina or chest pain, heart attack or heart disease.
As high cholesterol does not have any obvious symptoms, it is important to have regular cholesterol checks. It is recommended that an adult should measure their cholesterol levels at least once every five years. Cholesterol level can be measured by taking a blood sample and running a lipoprotein profile test.
The lipoprotein profile test indicates the level of "good" cholesterol or high-density lipoproteins (HDL) as well as the level of "bad" cholesterol or low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglycerides in the blood. The total combined cholesterol reading for optimum or normal level should be less than 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood. A high cholesterol reading indicates either high levels of "bad" cholesterol (LDL) or low levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL).
Various factors increase your risk of developing high cholesterol including:
Once diagnosed with high cholesterol, a patient should make major adjustments to his or her lifestyle before any medication is prescribed. As prevention is better than having to cure high cholesterol, lifestyle changes help a great deal.
Preventions or treatments of high cholesterol include:
There are many cholesterol-lowering medications on the market that would require a prescription. If your doctor decides to prescribe such a medication, remember that it will work best as part of a change to a healthier lifestyle.