Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that your body needs for good health, but in the right amounts.
Unhealthy levels of cholesterol can lead to a condition called high blood cholesterol.
Cholesterol in your blood is carried on lipoproteins:
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol
High-density lipoprotein (HDL), is sometimes called “good” cholesterol.
High levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol cause plaque (fatty deposits) to build up in your blood vessels. This may lead to heart attack, stroke, or other health problems.
“Good” HDL cholesterol returns cholesterol to your liver so it can be removed from the body. In healthy people, high levels of HDL cholesterol may lower your risk of heart attack, stroke, and other health problems.
Unhealthy cholesterol levels are often caused by lifestyle habits, such as unhealthy eating patterns, in combination with the genes that you inherit from your parents.
Routine blood tests can show whether your cholesterol levels are healthy. To help get your cholesterol levels into the healthy range, you may need heart-healthy lifestyle changes or medicines.
High “bad” LDL cholesterol usually does not cause symptoms, so most people do not know they have it until they are tested during a routine doctor’s visit.
Very high levels may cause symptoms such as fatty bumps on your skin, called xanthomas, or grayish-white rings around the corneas in your eye, called corneal arcus. These mostly develop in people who have familial hypercholesterolemia.
Undiagnosed or untreated high blood cholesterol can lead to serious problems, such as heart attack and stroke.
High blood cholesterol can lead to a condition called atherosclerosis, in which plaque builds up in the blood vessels throughout your body.
Over time, uncontrolled high blood cholesterol can cause several heart or blood vessel diseases.
This video talks about how scientists found high cholesterol can cause heart disease.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies about fat in milk and cheese linked to lower risk of heart disease, and what heart and stroke patients should know about COVID-19 vaccines
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about nutrient that can protect your heart rate, and results showing this combo therapy can cut risk of heart attack and stroke by half.
