Why Should You Worry About High Cholesterol?

By: Julia Carmichael



Eventually, high cholesterol can kill you. That should be reason enough to make you worry about whether your cholesterol levels are too high. High cholesterol can block your arteries causing heart attack or stroke.

Cholesterol is a fatty wax like substance that is produced by your body to help preserve cell function. On top of the cholesterol your body produces, you also add to your cholesterol level by the foods you eat. The more fat your diet includes, the more likely you are to have a high cholesterol level.

Stress
In addition to how much cholesterol your body produces naturally and the amount you consume, there are some other factors that can cause you to have a higher cholesterol level. These include having Type 2 Diabetes, kidney disease or liver disease. Cholesterol can also be increased by stress, hypothyroidism and some medications such as progestins and steroids.

Having a high cholesterol level is bad for your body because the excess cholesterol in your blood can be deposited onto the walls of your arteries. This causes a hard substance called plaque to form inside the arteries. Besides this plaque, scar tissue can also build up in your arteries because of the damage done to your arteries by the plaque. This build up of plaque and scar tissue causes the arteries to become hard as well as becoming more narrow.

Blockage
The narrowing of the arteries makes it difficult for blood to flow properly while the hardness can cause the walls of the arteries to tear. In trying to stop the body from bleeding, your body will form a clot at the site of the arterial tear. However, even this self-preserving action is bad because the clot can break free inside the artery and cause the already narrowed artery to become completely blocked. A heart attack or stroke may result from this blockage.

It should also be noted there are two types of cholesterol. They are HDL and LDL or so called good and bad cholesterol. The HDL cholesterol, or good cholesterol, is the type that carries cholesterol out of your arteries to the liver where it is excreted from the body. It is all right for this cholesterol to be high. In fact, doctors will encourage you to raise this cholesterol level to improve your heart health. It is the LDL cholesterol that is bad for you and can cause heart attack and stroke. It is dangerous for this bad cholesterol to be too high because it is this cholesterol that builds up and blocks your arteries.

High cholesterol levels can be dangerous and bad for your health. According to statistics, high cholesterol claims a life through stroke or heart attack every 33 seconds. A good rule of thumb is to have your blood cholesterol level checked yearly. If it is too high, your doctor can suggest lifestyle changes or medications that can help get your levels back in balance.

More Articles

Information About Cholesterol And Heart Disease

... think otherwise. Experts from the Framingham Heart Study have determined that high blood cholesterol is one of the factors for a coronary heart disease or CHD. The result of their study showed that the ones who have a higher cholesterol level is the most likely he will have a coronary heart disease or ... 

Six Reasons To Lower High Cholesterol

... brain-choking events can also be caused directly or indirectly by high cholesterol levels. Getting the levels under control can very much reduce the risk factor for having a stroke. * Better diet. When a lower cholesterol diet is brought into play, the offshoot benefits can be amazing. Since these diets ... 

The Right Amount Of Cholesterol Is Fundamental For Good Health

... in a large-scale by the liver and other organs and consumed via animal fat. In the human body, large amounts of it are found in brain and nerve tissue. Liver produces this cholesterol. It produces about 800-1500 mg. of cholesterol per day. The liver can also produce cholesterol from carbohydrates, proteins ... 

Why Is Hdl Cholesterol Considered Good?

... cholesterol not only carries cholesterol away from your heart, but may help clean bad cholesterol out of your arteries. Ideally, you should try to raise your good cholesterol level if you want to have a healthy heart. A high HDL cholesterol level is considered to be 60 mg/dl or above. If you can reach ... 

Statin Dangers: This Cholesterol-Lowering Fad Has 7 Side Effects That Can Imperil Your Life

... neuropathy, is characterized by weakness, tingling and pain in the hands and feet as well as difficulty walking. Researchers who studied 500,000 residents of Denmark, about 9 percent of that country's population, found that people who took statins were more likely to develop polyneuropathy. Taking statins ... 

The Battle For Lower Cholesterol And The Differences With Men & Women

... to identify what is best plan for your body. There are a variety of alternative remedies and natural medicines which you can research. For example red rice yeast, Vitamin B5, soy, garlic and grape seed oil are all well know viable alternatives to help you lower your cholesterol. Just remember alternative ... 

Ayurveda Fenugreek Spice Is Scientifically Proven To Lower The Bad (LDL) And Increase The (HDL) Good Cholesterol

... and taken If it too sour for you put sweetener to taste in it. I have heard more than one Ayurvedic physician say s/he or he took triphala routinely for long periods of time. Tri Phala simply is three fruits that cleanse different tissue in all three sections of the body. These are all very common easy ... 

The Benefits Of Raising Your HDL Cholesterol

... excess cholesterol away from the body tissues and arteries back to the liver. The liver combines cholesterol with lipoproteins for use in various physiological body functions and building of tissues. A lipoprotein is a combined unit of lipid, that is, fat on the inside surrounded by protein on the outside. ... 

The Importance Of Understanding Your Cholesterol Level

... take immediate steps towards reducing those risks and decreasing the likelihood of future heart and blood problems. The underlying message to remember here is that the lower your LDL (the bad one) cholesterol, the lower your overall cholesterol level will be and it is the easiest one to control. You should ...