Cholesterol is a waxy substance resembling fat that moves through your blood. It is produced naturally by your liver to build healthy cells, but having high cholesterol levels can increase your risk for heart disease.
When you have high cholesterol, fatty deposits of plaque build up in your arteries over time. This plaque tightens the arteries, making it harder for blood to flow properly, which can result in medical emergencies such as heart attack or stroke.
The Two Types of Cholesterol
There are two main forms of cholesterol: LDL and HDL.
LDL cholesterol is considered “bad” cholesterol because it causes plaque to accumulate in your arteries. The LDL lipoproteins carry cholesterol from your liver throughout your body. When large amounts of LDL cholesterol are circulating in your blood, it can start to collect on artery walls.
HDL cholesterol is labeled “good” cholesterol because it shuttles cholesterol from other areas of your body back to your liver for removal. Having healthy levels of HDL cholesterol is important for keeping cholesterol balanced and clearing excess cholesterol from your blood vessels.
Causes of High Cholesterol
High cholesterol levels often result from unhealthy lifestyle factors such as poor diet, obesity, and lack of exercise. However, some people’s genetics make it more difficult for their bodies to regulate cholesterol effectively.
In addition to lifestyle and genetics, certain medical conditions such as chronic kidney disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism, and HIV/AIDS can cause high cholesterol. Some medications can also negatively impact cholesterol levels.
Risk Factors for High Cholesterol
Several factors put you at increased risk for unhealthy cholesterol levels, including:
A diet with a high level of saturated and trans fats- Being overweight and obesity
- Lack of regular physical activity
- Cigarette smoking
- Heavy alcohol consumption
- Older age (over 40 years old)
- A family history of high cholesterol
Having more risk factors elevates your chances of developing high cholesterol even further.
Dangers of Elevated Cholesterol Levels
When high cholesterol is left unchecked over many years, it can trigger serious medical complications. As more and more fatty deposits accumulate inside your arteries, you develop a condition called atherosclerosis, or “hardening of the arteries.”
The plaque narrows your blood vessels, constraining blood flow to essential organs and tissues. Over decades, atherosclerosis typically produces no signs or symptoms until clots or damaged pieces of plaque break free. When these block smaller downstream vessels, loss of blood flow leads to:
Heart Attack
If plaque ruptures and clots an artery supplying the heart muscle, this cuts off oxygen and causes a myocardial infarction (heart attack). Heart muscle starts dying within minutes unless cleared. Surviving heart attack tissue is permanently damaged and weakened.
Stroke
Just as with a heart attack, if an artery carrying oxygen-rich blood to the brain gets blocked, brain tissue quickly malfunctions. Cut off from nutrients and oxygen, parts of the brain become damaged from the stroke, which can cause long-term disability or death, depending on severity and location.
Chest Pain (Angina)
Before a heart attack, people with coronary artery atherosclerosis may feel episodic tight, squeezing, pressure-like pain in the center of the chest. Typically triggered by exertion and then relieved by rest, this symptom is called angina and indicates reduced blood supply.
Carotid Artery Disease
Plaque accumulation in the two large carotid arteries running up both sides of the neck is called carotid artery disease. This arterial narrowing reduces blood flow to the brain, raising the stroke risk. Plaque here is treatable by medications, surgery, or stenting to reopen blockages.
High Blood Pressure
Cholesterol plaque and calcium deposits make artery walls stiff and less elastic. This forces the heart to pump at higher pressure (blood pressure) to push blood through narrower openings, causing hypertension. High cholesterol and high blood pressure often coincide, mutually escalating the risk for all cardiovascular and stroke events.0
Congestive Heart Failure
After one or more heart attacks, surviving damaged heart muscle works less efficiently. The weakened heart progressively struggles but fails to pump sufficiently to meet the body’s blood circulation demands.
This causes fluid backup and congestion in the lungs, among other symptoms. Medications can help weakened hearts work more effectively.
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
When smaller peripheral leg arteries become obstructed with plaque, patients develop leg pain with exertion called claudication, along with other signs of PAD.
Just walking short distances becomes progressively more painful until rest occurs. Poor circulation starves tissues of oxygen. Ulcers or gangrene can result in severe cases unless treated.
Reducing Your Risk Through Lifestyle Changes
The most powerful way to lower your risk of atherosclerosis complications over the years is through heart-healthy lifestyle improvements. Effective strategies include:
- Losing excess weight if overweight
- Exercising 30+ minutes daily
- Quitting smoking and tobacco
- Limiting alcohol intake
- Reducing stressors
- Incorporating more whole grains, veggies, and fruits into your diet
- Choosing olive oil over butter and healthy fats instead of trans and saturated fats
- Avoiding highly processed foods whenever possible
Along with medical treatment, if cholesterol and/or blood pressure are very high, adopting as many of these protective habits as you can will slash your chances of life-altering cardiovascular disease. Small daily improvements truly do add up tremendously over months and years.
The Cardiologists at Imperial Center Family Medicine Can Help in Durham, NC
Left unchecked, the slow and silent buildup of cholesterol plaque in arteries seen in atherosclerosis can lead to medical emergencies and negative health impacts before warning signs ever appear. Don’t wait until damage has already occurred.
Contact Imperial Center Family Medicine’s expert cardiologists today in Durham, NC to evaluate your personal risk factors for high cholesterol and related complications.
Together, we can proactively reduce the likelihood you’ll become another heart disease statistic using lifestyle optimization and advanced preventive cardiology care.
Take control of your heart health future by contacting us now at 919-873-4437 or online to schedule your essential heart wellness examination.