How does high cholesterol affect heart health?

 High cholesterol is one of the major factors of increasing the risk of heart disease. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that helps body to make cells, hormones and vitamin D. it is produced naturally inside the liver.

Every cell of your body uses cholesterol so it should be in healthy state. More amount of cholesterol leads to heart diseases like heart stroke and heart attack. High cholesterol also increases the risks of other factors like narrowing or blocking of blood vessels.

Dr. Ranjit Jagtap is a well known cardiothoracic surgeon in Pune who is actively involved in minimizing the risk of heart issues and provides the world class heart surgeries with excellent results. Dr. Ranjit Jagtap Daughter, Aditi Jagtap also contributes in serving humanity by involving in volunteering at Ram mangal heart foundation.

Coronary heart disease is linked to high cholesterol in the body. Level of cholesterol in blood has a lot to do with heart condition. High cholesterol builds up on the walls of your arteries. This leads to the condition called atherosclerosis which reduces the blood flow in the entire body.

Narrowing of vessels causes severe chest pain because of no blood flow towards the heart. This way heart muscles begin to die and block completely with time.

Causes of high cholesterol

Cholesterol is present in the blood and carried to all parts of the body. The combination of protein and cholesterol is called lipoprotein. There are two forms of cholesterol:

1.     Low-density lipoprotein (LDL): LDL is a bad type of cholesterol present in the blood. LDL is the main source of clogging arteries with developing plaque on the walls. It makes arteries hard and narrow and prevents the flow of blood.

2.     High-density lipoprotein (HDL): HDL is a good type of cholesterol which helps in picking up of excess amount of cholesterol from your blood and takes it back to the liver.

Symptoms of high cholesterol

High cholesterol has no symptoms in itself. It is very difficult to find out the level of cholesterol in your body. The only way to check your cholesterol level is through blood tests. It is essential to know your cholesterol numbers on regular basis. If cholesterol level is lowered it will eventually reduce the chance of getting a heart attack.

Factors affecting cholesterol level

Following are the factors that affect your cholesterol levels.

1.     Poor diet: unhealthy cholesterol levels are raised by eating too much saturated fat and trans fat. Reduce the amount of saturated and trans fat in your diet to lower the cholesterol level. Fiber rich food and plant-derived foods can lower the amount of low-density lipoprotein level.

2.     Exercise: Exercising regularly helps to lower LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol. Move your body at least for 20 minutes every day.

3.     Age: Age is a major factor that affects cholesterol levels in your body. It is quite common in people of 40 or above years old. Liver becomes weak in collecting cholesterol with age. Women experience low cholesterol level before their menopause. But after this stage, LDL in women rises.

4.     Obesity: Being overweight can also increase your cholesterol level. As obesity is a main reason of getting a heart disease. One should have body mass index lower than 30.

5.     Medical conditions: severe medical condition can cause a elevation in cholesterol level. Conditions like liver, kidney and thyroid problem increase the levels of LDL in your blood.

Treatment of high cholesterol

If the level of LDL cholesterol is reduced then the risk of heart disease can easily be controlled. Follow healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight to lower cholesterol. Contact your doctor and ask for proper medication and treatment to reduce LDL levels. Statins are the type of medicine which is prescribed by doctors to reduce cholesterol.

Ram Mangal Heart Foundation believes in working towards ethics, quality, experience and excellence to create a safe environment for every patient. With this foundation Aditi Jagtap Pune indulged herself in making patients feel like home.

 

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