High Cholesterol Definition
Cholesterol is a waxy, fatty substance that the body needs to
function normally. Cholesterol is used as a building block for many structures
as well as other chemicals and hormones that are essential for the body’s
activities.
The body
does not need that much cholesterol, and excess amounts can be deposited along
the lining of artery walls, decreasing the amount of blood flow to different
parts of the body.
High cholesterol
is one of the risk factors that can lead to atherosclerotic cardiovascular
disease (ASCVD), including heart attack, TIA (transient ischemic attack), stroke and peripheral artery
disease.
Factors
that may increase your risk of high cholesterol include:
- Poor diet. Eating saturated
fat, found in animal products, and trans fats, found in some commercially
baked cookies and crackers, can raise your cholesterol level. ...
- Some people inherit genes that trigger too much cholesterol production. For others, diet is the main culprit.
- Obesity.
- Large waist circumference.
- Lack of exercise.
- Smoking.
- Diabetes.
Effects of High Cholesterol In the Body
Blood vessels are flexible and elastic when they are healthy but high LDL-C levels in the blood vessels clogs and hardened them over a period of time. This is called atherosclerosis.
Having too much LDL-C in the blood results in the accumulation of cholesterol in the artery walls. Finally, plaques form from the deposits. Plaques are made up of cholesterol, fat and other substances in the arteries. These plaques become larger over time until they restrict the free flow of blood to other organs like the brain, heart, etc.
In some cases, these plaques can burst thereby spilling fat and cholesterol into your blood stream and triggering blood accumulation, which could completely block an artery. If this happens in the artery leading to the heart it can trigger heart attack, if it occurs in arteries that lead to the brain, it may result to transient ischemic attack (TIA, known also as mini stroke) or a more serious stroke.
High cholesterol is one of the causes of atherosclerosis. Though things like high blood pressure, high triglycerides (the main transport for fats in your body), smoking and diabetes can also lead to the formation of plaques, hardening and blocking of arteries. Note that atherosclerosis happens slowly over time so one may not have any symptoms.
Atherosclerosis as a health condition can be slowed or delayed and one way of doing this is to bring down the cholesterol levels to a healthy level if they are too high.
Understanding the Risks of High Cholesterol
It will do much good to everyone to know their health
condition to enable a start on time in managing it. The rise of LDL-C (bad cholesterol) levels is equal to the
rise of the risks of having cardiovascular disease, which is related to a
process called atherosclerosis — build-up of fats and other
substances in artery walls called plaques.
Plaque build-up can disrupt the free flow of blood to other
parts of the body e.g. heart, brain, etc. leading to mini-stroke transient
ischemic attack (TIA). Plaques could rupture or break open and cause the
formation of clots in the blood, which could completely block the artery and may
lead to heart attack or stroke.
Other long-lasting health concerns like diabetes and
hypertension may be developed as a result of having cardiovascular disease. To be continued…
Remain
Safe, Sound & Secured
Prince
Aloy Anyanwu
The
Helper of your Joy!
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