What is High Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a naturally occurring fatty chemical that is an important part of the outer lining (membrane) of cells in the body. You need a small amount of it to maintain healthy nerve cells and to produce certain hormones.

* Most cholesterol is produced in the liver, and is carried in the bloodstream to the body's cells by special proteins called lipoproteins.

* The two major lipoproteins are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)

* You also get cholesterol in your diet mainly in foods that come from animals. These include meat, poultry, fish and dairy products. Foods of plant origin have no cholesterol.

How do you get High Cholesterol?

LDL is the major carrier of cholesterol in the blood. LDL is sometimes called "bad" cholesterol. HDL also carries cholesterol and is sometimes referred to as “good” cholesterol.

* LDL deposits cholesterol in the artery walls, causing the formation of a hard, thick cholesterol plaque.

* Over time, the cholesterol plaque causes thickening of the artery walls and narrowing of the arteries. This is a disease process called atherosclerosis.

* HDL tends to do the opposite: it also carries cholesterol in the blood stream, but acts to remove excess cholesterol.

The main causes of high cholesterol are eating foods that have a lot of saturated fat or cholesterol in them or from an inherited tendency to handle cholesterol abnormally. Finally high cholesterol can occur in some people with other diseases like disorders of the liver, kidney, diabetes and an under-active thyroid.

How serious is High Cholesterol?

Doctors know that lowering cholesterol levels reduces the risk of illness or death from heart disease. If you already have heart disease then lowering cholesterol will probably help you live longer. Blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart muscles are called coronary arteries.

* High LDL cholesterol is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease because it causes damage to and narrowing of the arteries.

* When coronary arteries are narrowed by atherosclerosis, they may be incapable of supplying enough blood and oxygen to the heart muscle during exertion.

* Lack of oxygen (called ischaemia) to the heart muscle causes chest pain.

* There is a greater chance of a blood clot forming on the surface of the fatty deposit in the artery. This may cause complete blockage of the artery, leading to death of heart muscle (heart attack) in the affected area.

* It is interesting that HDL cholesterol is sometimes called "good" cholesterol, because it helps to remove cholesterol from the blood and in so doing, may help to clear cholesterol plaque from the arteries.

The risk from high cholesterol is increased if other “risk factors” are also present like high blood pressure and smoking, because these interact with each other.

How long does High Cholesterol last?

Blood cholesterol starts to rise as you get older, beginning around age 20 years and rising more sharply after age 40. During this time, extra cholesterol, over that which the body needs, is deposited in the walls of arteries.

How is High Cholesterol treated?

Diet, weight loss, and regular exercise are the first steps to lower blood cholesterol and prevent coronary heart disease. If you smoke, you should stop. Reducing dietary saturated fat intake is the most common means of reducing blood cholesterol. If these measures are not enough, medicines will be recommended. Medicines used to treat high blood fat (lipid) levels (called hyperlipidaemia) include:

* Statins, which help to remove LDL cholesterol from the blood.

* Niacin, a B vitamin, makes the body produce less cholesterol.

* Cholestyramine and colestipol, which reduces the amount of cholesterol absorbed into the body from the bowel (intestine).

* Fibrates, also help to remove cholesterol from the blood.

* Probucol, an antioxidant, helps to stop cholesterol from being changed into a more harmful chemical form which prevents it attacking blood vessels.

It is important to get your cholesterol levels checked regularly.