When you have high cholesterol, you develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels.
How to diagnose and manage your high cholesterol
While your body needs cholesterol in a small quantity, having high cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease. Here's what you need to know.
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These fatty deposits make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries and they can get clogged. Your heart may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack In addition, decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke. Cholesterol can lead to a plethora of health conditions that can prove fatal.
High cholesterol can be inherited, but more often that not, it's due to unhealthy lifestyle choices. A healthy diet, regular exercise and medication, if the condition is severe enough, can go a long way toward reducing high cholesterol and restoring your health.
Causes
Cholesterol is carried through your blood, attached to proteins. This combination of proteins and cholesterol is called a lipoprotein. You may have heard of different types of cholesterol, based on what type of cholesterol the lipoprotein carries. They are:
- Low-density lipoprotein (LDL).
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL).
Risk factors
Factors that may increase your risk of high cholesterol include:
- Poor diet.
- Obesity.
- Large waist circumference.
- Lack of exercise.
- Smoking.
- Diabetes.
Problems with high cholesterol
High cholesterol can cause a dangerous accumulation of cholesterol and other fatty deposits on the walls of your arteries. These deposits can reduce blood flow through your arteries, which can cause complications, like:
- Chest pain.
- Heart attack.
- Stroke.
How to prevent/manage high cholesterol
The same heart-healthy lifestyle changes that can lower your cholesterol can help prevent you from having high cholesterol in the first place.To help prevent high cholesterol, you can:
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