When you eat too much fatty food, do not go for physical work like exercise, and do smoking and drink alcohol on regular basis you may suffer from high cholesterol. it is a genetic disease and runs in families.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol belongs to the class of lipids. The liver produces it naturally and it is a waxy solid substance. Cholesterol is essential for the formation of cell membranes because cell membranes contain some quantity of it and plays a vital role in the synthesis of certain hormones and vitamins in the body. As cholesterol is a solid lipid so it is insoluble in water and thus cannot be moved through the blood, for its transportation liver produces some kinds of lipoproteins to which cholesterol is soluble..
What is a high cholesterol level?
There are two types of cholesterols:
LDL is known as “bad cholesterol”. Due to this property it accumulates inside the blood arteries and may cause serious health effects. It also increases the risk of heart strokes. Food that is high in fat may increase the concentration of LDL in the blood. The cause condition is called hypercholesterolemia.
HDL is known as “good cholesterol”. Due to this property, it helps to eliminate LDL cholesterol by returning it to the liver. If the blood contains too high LDL cholesterol and too low HDL cholesterols levels, it would be difficult for blood to flow through the arteries and cause problems, particularly in the heart and brain.
What are the symptoms:
Accumulation of cholesterol characteristically does not cause any symptoms it only causes emergency events like heart stroke or cardiac arrest as a result of harm caused by it. They cause plaque in the arteries. The formation of plaque can narrow down the diameter of arteries so that less blood passes through and can lead to serious problems.
Blood tests are a good indicator of your high blood cholesterol level. And if you have a high level in your blood family history then get it checked by a doctor more frequently. The following might be some of the common symptoms of high cholesterol levels:
1. Having high blood pressure:
Cholesterol causes narrowness in arteries. It is difficult for the blood to pass through usually. This thing ultimately causes the blood to pass with high pressure so that more blood can be reached different parts of the body.
2. Overweight:
Whenever you feel that you are getting overweight you must go for a blood test. Being overweight causes an accumulation of fat in the body.
3. Smoking:
If you are a smoker or have an addiction to smoking, you must be concerned about your blood cholesterol levels. Smoke makes LDL stickier and helps them clog easily. Smoking also lowers the HDL level which helps in removing it from the blood.
Negative health effects:
1. Heart:
Following are some of the negative health effects :
(i) Coronary artery disease (CAD):
This disease causes the arteries to narrow down. Symptoms of coronary artery disease vary from person to person and even vary in men and women but prove to be killers in both sexes. The most common symptoms are:
- Shortening of breath
- Nausea
- Chest pain
- Pain in the stomach
- Pain in neck and jaw
- Fatigue
(ii) Heart attack:
The cholesterol plaque builds up in the arteries and narrows these from inside, this process happens slowly over time but during all this, a piece of the plaque may eventually break off and when this happens, a blood clot starts to form around the plaque. This blocks the blood flow to the heart muscles and deprives them of oxygen. This condition is called “ischemia”. In this disease, a part of the heart begins to die due to the deprivation of oxygen. Symptoms of a heart attack include:
- Pain in the chest or arm
- Difficulty in breathing
- Depression and anxiety
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
A heart attack is taken as a medical emergency. Treatment should be carried out in the early hours; otherwise, the damage to the heart could be proved fatal.
(iii) Enlarged left heart:
High blood pressure is caused by the narrowing of blood arteries. it may cause your heart to work harder to pump blood throughout your body. As a result, the left ventricle of your heart begins to thicken and its ability to pump blood to the body becomes low. This condition is also linked with heart failure.
(iv) Peripheral arterial disease (PAD):
This condition occurs when the heart fails to pump blood enough blood to the arms, stomach, legs, feet, and kidneys. Symptoms of the peripheral arterial disease are:
- Pain in the body parts
- Cramping
- Pain in legs and arms during exercise
- Discomfort in limbs
As the peripheral arterial disease progresses, these symptoms occur more frequently and even at rest. Other symptoms may include:
- Ulcers on the lower limbs that do not heal or heal
- Gangrene is also called tissue death
- Pain in limbs that does not go away even at rest
- Shining of the skin on the legs and arms
- Thickening of toenails
- Reduction of hair growth on legs
- The low temperature in the lower limb.
2. Brain:
It causes a stroke.
(i) Stroke:
Due to the formation of plaque, the blood supply is cut off to different important parts of the brain and this is what leads to a stroke. A stroke is also characterized as a medical emergency, and it is important to act fast in that condition and get medical help. The symptoms include:
- Loss of coordination and balance
- Nausea
- Moving inability (affecting one part of the body)
- Blurred vision
- Severe headache
Ways to control high cholesterol:
In genetics, high cholesterol factors cannot be controlled; however, changing lifestyle has a great influence. In order to lower the risk of developing high cholesterol:
- Eat food that is rich in fibers, nutritious and low in animal fat
- Avoid consumption of alcohol
- Avoid smoking
- Try to maintain a moderate body weight
- Exercise on a regular basis
- Test your cholesterol levels on a regular basis
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