The Dangers of High Cholesterol and How to Treat It
When your body produces or consumes too much cholesterol lodged in your blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries and eventually causes their hardening. When arteries are jam-packed, they become constricted. As a result, you’ll experience slowing down or blockage of the blood flow to your heart.
Since blood transfers oxygen to the heart, this abnormal obstruction can cause you intermittent chest pains. If the blood supply to your heart is totally blocked, that’s when you will suffer from a heart attack. Whether you accept it or not, high cholesterol levels in your blood can vitally increase the risks of heart diseases.
Identifying High Cholesterol Figures
It’s scary that high blood cholesterol doesn’t give symptoms warning you of a high level of cholesterol in your blood stream. It is for this reason that you need to seriously determine cholesterol numbers by taking a cholesterol measurement checkup at least once every two years.
The most recommended procedure to check high blood cholesterol level is through a test called lipoprotein profile. Here, the patient needs to abstain from any kind of food nine to twelve hours before the test procedure. This blood test will provide you with information about your total cholesterol count, LDL (bad cholesterol), HDL (good cholesterol), and information about an uncommon type of fat termed “triglycerides”.
Actually, cholesterol is not harmful at normal levels. As a matter of fact, it is the substance used by your body to create cell walls and produce hormones. The human body naturally produces cholesterol in the liver, but it can also be found in the food you eat from meat, milk, eggs and other dairy products. When you consume large amounts of cholesterol, your body reacts by counter-producing more cholesterol. As obvious as the result, you will have high cholesterol levels when this happens.
Cholesterol is medically measured in “milligrams per deciliter” of blood. According to experts, the healthy profile consists of a total cholesterol level of not more than 200, an HDL level greater than 40 and an LDL level depending on your physical condition. People with low risks of heart disease should strive for less than 160 LDL while people with higher risks of heart disease should aim for an LDL level of 130 and below. On the other hand, patients currently suffering from a heart disease should target an LDL of less than 100.
It is extremely advised to take lipoprotein profile regularly, especially if you have a family background of heart diseases. The figures acquired from this blood test will give you an accurate idea about your blood cholesterol levels. Then you can apply what you find out from the results to your life. If you learn of a high cholesterol level early on, you can start lowering the risks of a heart disease by seeking medical treatment and changing lifestyle habits that can reduce your cholesterol levels instead of boosting it.
Don’t be afraid and lose hope if you discover that you have a high cholesterol level. While it can be a dangerous condition, it can always be treated through proper supervision, medication and discipline. By changing unhealthy food habits, destructive physical activities and casual lifestyle, you are getting hold of your life and taking control of your health.
