overview
Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in your blood. Your body needs cholesterol to build healthy cells, but high cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease.
With high cholesterol, you can develop fat deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits develop, making it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Sometimes these deposits can suddenly break down and form a clot that causes a heart attack or stroke.
High cholesterol can be inherited, but is often the result of an unhealthy lifestyle that makes it preventable and treatable. Eating a healthy diet, regular physical activity, and sometimes medication can help lower cholesterol levels. High cholesterol Treatment in Hyderabad
symptoms
High cholesterol has no symptoms. A blood test is the only way to tell if you have it.
The reasons
Cholesterol is transported in your blood and bound to proteins. This combination of protein and cholesterol is known as lipoprotein. There are different types of cholesterol depending on what the lipoprotein carries. They are:
Low density lipoprotein (LDL). LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, is what carries cholesterol particles around your body. LDL cholesterol builds up in the walls of your arteries, making them hard and narrow.
High Density Lipoprotein (HDL). HDL, or “good” cholesterol, absorbs excess cholesterol and transports it back to your liver. High cholesterol Treatment in Hyderabad
Risk factors
Factors that can increase your risk of bad cholesterol include:
- Bad diet. Eating saturated fats found in animal products and trans fats found in some store-bought cookies and crackers, as well as microwave popcorn, can raise your cholesterol levels. High cholesterol foods like red meat and high fat dairy products also raise your cholesterol levels.
- Obesity. A body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more carries the risk of high cholesterol.
- Sedentary lifestyle. Exercise helps increase your body’s HDL, or “good” cholesterol, while increasing the size of the particles that make up your LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, making it less harmful.
- Smoke. Smoking damages the walls of your blood vessels, making them more susceptible to fatty deposits. Smoking can also lower your HDL, or “good” cholesterol.
preventions
The same heart-healthy lifestyle changes that can lower your cholesterol can keep you from having high cholesterol in the first place. To prevent high cholesterol, you can:
- Eat a low-salt diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
- Limit the amount of animal fat and use the right fats in moderation
- Lose extra pounds and maintain a healthy weight
- Stop smoking
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes most days of the week
- Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all
- Coping with stress.