High cholesterol and risk of heart diseases
High cholesterol is one of the main causes of heart disease or heart attack. Since high cholesterol does not show any physical symptom, it is difficult for us to know that we have an silent enemy working inside our body. High cholesterol can be diagnosed only after lipid profile test of the blood. After the age of 40, every year get blood lipid profile done and consult with your physician about the condition.
Since high cholesterol symptoms are hidden or almost non existent, only blood test for lipid profile can reveal the harm. If high cholesterol is found take medication as prescribed by your physician. Apart from that keep vigil on what you eat.
Total cholesterol is the sum of LDL – low density lipoproteins which are bad, HDL- high density lipoproteins which are good and triglycerides.
Too much of LDL is bad for heart. These circulate in the blood and forms deposits on the inner walls of the arteries which supply blood to the heart. These deposits form thick and hard plaque which narrow the arteries and harden them. This is known as atherosclerosis. When the narrowed artery is blocked by a clot, heart attack or stroke will result.
HDL is called good cholesterol. Low levels of HDL are not a healthy condition. HDL should be more than one third to one fourth of total cholesterol. There are varied opinion how HDL is protecting the heart. One opinion is that, HDL carry the cholesterol away to liver where they are processed further. Another opinion is that HDL removes the excess cholesterol from the arterial plaque.
Triglyceride is another form of fat. Overweight, obesity, lack of physical activity, excessive smoking, alcohol abuse and very high carbohydrate diet attributes high triglyceride level.
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