What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a waxy, fatlike substance
that is naturally present in cell walls or
membranes everywhere in the body. Your
body uses cholesterol to produce many
hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids
that help to digest fat.
If you have too much cholesterol in your
bloodstream, the excess may be
deposited in the arteries of the heart,
which could lead to heart disease.
What causes high cholesterol?
Several drugs and diseases can
cause high cholesterol !!
however, for many people, a high-fat
diet and inherited metabolic factors
seem to be the main causes.
What are the symptoms of high
cholesterol?
Hi gh ch oles terol doesn ’t h av e a ny
sym pto ms.
Th e only w ay to kn ow i f you ha ve
high ch olester ol is to ha ve it
che cke d, which ca n be do ne with a
simpl e bl ood test, call ed a fas ting
lipo pro te in pro fi le
How often should I have my cholesterol
checked?
Gover nmen t a nd ph ysi cian -
suppo rt ed guid elines s tate th at
hea lth y adul ts who a re age d 20
ye ar s or ol der sh ould ha ve a fa sti ng
lipo pro te in pro fi le do ne once eve ry
5 yea rs.
How is cholesterol checked?
You may be as ked to f ast ove rni ght b efore
the t est, hence its na me. A fa sti ng l ip oprot ein
profi le me asures :
total cholest erol , LD L ( "ba d") cholest erol,
HDL ( "good ") cholest erol,
and tri gl yc eri des in your blood .
A cholesterol test can be d one wi thout
fas ti ng , b ut t hen onl y the leve ls of tot al
chol esterol and HDL C (" good ") can be used .
Should I only be concerned with my total
chol- number?
Ju st kn owi ng yo ur total ch ole st er ol isn ’t en oug h.
Ch olest ero l is ma de up of 2 d iffer ent types :
HD L C (" go od" ) cho les ter ol an d
LDL C ("b ad") ch ole st ero l .
HD L C is co nsid er ed go od beca us e it hel ps keep LDL
C (" ba d" ) fro m bu ild ing up in the wal ls of yo ur
ar ter ies and cau si ng blo ckag e.
You als o need to kn ow your le vel of tr igl yce ri des
beca us e hig h tri gly cerid es als o in cr ea se the risk of
hea rt diseas e, esp eci al ly in peo ple wi th dia be te s.
What kinds of problems are
caused by high cholesterol?
Hi gh ch ole st er ol cau ses
at her oscl er osi s (har de nin g of the ar ter ies ) , wh ich can
le ad to
bl ock ed coro na ry ar ter ies, man ifest ed by
chest pa in (an gin a) or a he ar t at tack . Other ser ious
pr oblems, as
bl ock ed ar ter ie s to the bra in , causin g thre at en ed
st ro ke (t ran si en t ische mic att ack) an d
bl ocke d arte rie s in the leg s , causin g pai n, limp in g,
an d poss ib ly ev en limb lo ss, ar e possi bl e
What are the uncontrollable andcontrollable
and risk factors for high cholesterol ?!
Th e risk factors you ca n’t co ntrol :
yo ur ag e (for me n, 45 y ea rs or older ; for wo me n,
55 year s or older )
yo ur famil y histo ry of ear ly hea rt diseas e (for
men , fat her or br other affected bef ore ag e 55
ye ar s; for
wo me n, mo ther or si st er af fect ed be fore age 65
ye ar s) .
The ris k f actors you can cont rol a re
lo wer in g hi gh bl ood cho lest er ol
wh ich is hi gh total ch olest er ol an d hig h LDL C
(" bad" ); rai si ng HDL C ("g ood") ch olest er ol.
quitting smoking;
controlling high blood pressure;
controlling diabetes;
losing weight if overweight/obese;
and keeping physically active.
If you have diabetes, your risk of heart
disease is high. To reduce your risk,
you will need to lower your cholesterol under
the supervision of your doctor.
What the Numbers Mean
Ch olest ero l is me asu red in mi ll ig rams per deci li ter s
(mg/dL ) o f bl ood. .
De si ra bl e – Less than 200 mg /dL
Borde rli ne Hi gh Ri sk – 20 0- 239 mg /dL
Hi gh Ri sk – 240 mg /dL a nd abo ve
However, the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with
these levels of chol- and trig- will depend upon the
presence or absence of other risk factors, such as
the presence of known
cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke), hypertension ,
age & positive family history &diabetes& sex & smoking
Yo ur HD L choles te rol lev el wil l fal l into 1 of 3
categ orie s:
Hi gh (De si ra bl e) – 6 0 mg /dL and ab ove
Accep tabl e – 40- 59 mg /dL
Low – 40 mg/d L an d less
Trigl yce rid es
A high lev el o f tri g - may b e a si gn of a li popr otein
pr oblem that co nt ribu tes to h ear t di sea se .
Yo ur trig ly cer id e lev el wi ll fal l into 1 of 4 categ orie s:
Normal – Less than 150 mg/d L
Borde rli ne Hi gh – 1 50- 199 mg/d L
Hi gh – 20 0- 499 mg/dL
Ver y Hig h – 50 0 mg/dL an d ab ove
LD L chol est erol is consi dered t he “ba d”
chol esterol. Your ri sk of hea rt d iseas e goes up
if yo u ha ve a hi gh level of LDL cholest erol in
your b lood. Your
LD L chol e- level wi ll fa ll in to 1of 5 ca tegor ies:
Op tima l – L ess tha n 100 mg/ dL
Nea r Opt imal /A bove Opt ima l – 1 00-1 29 mg /dl
Bord erli ne H igh – 1 30-1 59 mg/ dL
High – 1 60-1 89 mg/ dL
Very H igh – 1 90 mg /d L and a bove
What can I do to prevent high cholesterol?
The primary prevention of high cholesterol is to
adopt a healthy lifestyle.
This lifestyle should include 30-60 minutes a
day of exercise on most or all days of the week,
a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol,
and not smoking.
When would a doctor prescribe a medication to
lower cholesterol?
If you h ave hi gh cholesterol , the mai n goa l of a
trea tment p rogr am is to low er your LD L
("bad ") cholest erol level. There a re 2 ma in
ways to low er your LD L chol esterol l evel :
1- lif esty le cha ng es and 2- dr ug
trea tment .
Li fest yle cha nges inc lud e a
low-s at ur at ed fa t,
low-chol esterol d iet ;
ex ercise; a nd
weight loss i f you ar e ove rwei ght .
If fol low ing a heal thy di et, ex ercis ing , a nd
losi ng wei ght don’t l ow er your ri sk for h eart
dis ease,
th en your d oct or mi gh t prescr ibe a medi cation
to hel p low er your chol esterol
Even i f your d octor d oes pr escrib e a med icat ion
you mus t st il l f ollow
your hea lt hy di et,
be more ph ysi cally active,
st op cigar ette smokin g if you smoke,
and contr ol yo ur other ri sk fa ctors :
(e.g ., hi gh b lood pr ess ur e, di abe tes) f or
hea rt d isea se .
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