All of us have cholesterol. It is each cell in our bodies. There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. If you have too little of the good cholesterol or HDL, that is not good. If you have too much bad cholesterol or LDL, that is not good either. it is important for your body to have a mixture of good and bad cholesterol at a certain ratio in order for your body to be healthy, especially your heart.
High cholesterol can be hereditary, or it can develop as you get older. Adults are more apt to develop non-hereditary high cholesterol. When children are diagnosed with it, it is usually because it runs in their family. People who eat a fatty diet and don’t exercise are more likely to develop high cholesterol.
You probably won’t know you have high cholesterol, though you might have an idea since you know the lifestyle you lead. There are no overt symptoms, but the damage it can do to your body can be life-threatening. You might have symptoms of dizziness, sweating and chest pain which are not symptoms of high cholesterol, per se. They could be symptoms of heart disease or high blood pressure caused by your high cholesterol. Cholesterol can be checked with a blood test after fasting overnight.
Nothing to eat or drink will give the best results but some labs now say black coffee is okay before your test.
High cholesterol causes arteries to get clogged up, which in turn can cause many complications in your health. Some of the more serious diseases due to high cholesterol are heart attack and many forms of heart disease caused by slow blood flow due to clogged arteries. High cholesterol can cause stroke, aneurysm or other traumatic brain injuries due to arteries in the brain closing. It can also cause high blood pressure which can stroke and heart disease???
High cholesterol can be treated by dietary modification, exercise and weight loss, medication or a combination. For many people, just changing their habits is enough to lower their cholesterol to a safe range. For other people, medication is necessary. Statins, which are the main medication doctors prescribe for high cholesterol, often show side effects of muscle aches in the calves. If that is the case with you, your doctor will talk to you about another treatment, most likely a healthy diet and more exercise. Some physicians try their patients on red yeast rice instead of pharmaceutical statins.
The best thing you can do to keep from getting high cholesterol at all is to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and have your doctor check your status as needed.
