High Blood Cholesterol Can Affect Your Health And Wellbeing. Are You Aware Of It? Take Action Before It Is Too Late...

High blood cholesterol and triglycerides

The medical term for high blood cholesterol and triglycerides is lipid disorder. Such a disorder happens when you have too many fatty substances in your blood. Some of these substances are cholesterol and triglycerides.

What Causes Lipid Disorders?

A lipid disorder increases your risk for atherosclerosis, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure or hypertension, and other problems.

There are many types of cholesterol. The ones talked about most are:

Total cholesterol where all the cholesterols are added together or combined. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol - often called "good" cholesterol.

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol - often called "bad" cholesterol.

There are several genetic disorders that lead to abnormal levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. They are:

Familial combined hyperlipidemia Familial dysbetalipoproteinemia Familial hypercholesterolemia Familial hypertriglyceridemia

Abnormal high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels may also be caused by:

Certain type of medications, such as birth control pills Estrogen, corticosteroids, certain diuretics, beta blockers, and certain antidepressants.

Diseases like diabetes, hypothyroidism, Gushing syndrome, poly-cystic ovary syndrome, and kidney disease

Excessive consumption of alcohol

Fatty diets that are high in saturated fats. These diets usually include red meat, egg yolks, high-fat dairy products. Trans fatty acids found in commercial processed food products.

Lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle

Smoking, which reduces HDL "good" cholesterol

Examination and Tests For Lipid Disorder

Tests to diagnose a lipid disorder may include:

HDL test LDL test Lipoprotein-a analysis Total cholesterol test Triglyceride test

High Blood Cholesterol and Triglycerides (Dyslipidemia)

Another video on High Blood Cholesterol

Treatment For Lipid Disorder

Treatment depends on your ageHealth historyWhether you smoke or notOther risk factors for heart disease,like:

Diabetes Poorly controlled high blood pressure Family history of heart disease

The recommended numbers for adults are different depending on the above risk factors. In general the recommended numbers are:

LDL: 70-130 mg/dL (lower numbers are better)HDL: more than 40-60 mg/dL (high numbers are better)Total cholesterol: less than 200 mg/dL (lower numbers are better)Triglycerides: 10-150 mg/dL (lower numbers are better)

There are ways to improve this cholesterol levels, and help prevent heart disease and heart attack. The most important ones are:>

Eat a heart-healthy diet with plenty of fiber-rich fruits and vegetables.

Avoid saturated fats found mostly in animal products

Avoid trans-fatty acids found in fast foods and commercially baked products.

Choose unsaturated fats

Exercise regularly to help raise your HDL "good" cholesterol

Get periodic health checkups and cholesterol screenings

Lose weight if you are overweight

Stop smoking

If lifestyle changes don`t work, your doctor may recommend medication. There are many types of drugs to help lower high blood cholesterol levels. They work in different ways. Some are better at lowering LDL cholesterol. Some are good at lowering triglycerides, others help raise HDL cholesterol.

The most commonly used and effective drugs for treating high blood LDL cholesterol are called statins. They are:>

Lovastatin (Mevacor), Pravastatin (Pravachol), Simvastatin (Zocor), Fluvastatin (Lescol), Torvastatin (Lipitor), and Rosuvastatin (Crestor).

Other drugs include bile acid sequestering resins, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, fibrates, and nicotinic acid (niacin).

Outlook of the problem (Prognosis)

If you are diagnosed with high blood cholesterol, you will probably need to continue lifestyle changes and drug treatment throughout your life. Periodic monitoring of your cholesterol blood levels may be necessary. Reducing high blood cholesterol levels will slow the progression of atherosclerosis.

Possible complications of high cholesterol include:

Atherosclerosis Coronary artery disease Stroke Heart attack or death

Possible complications of high triglycerides include:

Pancreatitis

Prevention

Cholesterol and triglyceride screening is important to identify and treat abnormal levels. The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force advises that men age 35 or older and women age 45 or older should have their cholesterol levels checked.

To help prevent high cholesterol:>

Eat a well-balanced, low-fat diet Keep a healthy body weight Get regular exercise

Alternative Names For Lipid disorders Hyperlipoproteinemia Hyperlipidemia Dyslipidemia Hypercholesterolemia

Keep your high blood cholesterol in check.

"Prevention Is Better Than Cure"

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