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Hypercholesterolemia is a term for high cholesterol levels in the blood. Cholesterol is not always bad for your health as your body needs it for maintaining cell structure and hormone production.
There are two main types of cholesterol in the body that we use as clinical biomarkers, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). HDL is called good cholesterol as it provides many benefits. But LDL is harmful for your health and hypercholesterolemia refers to high levels of this type of cholesterol.
Hypercholesterolemia can result in serious complications, includingmyocardial infarction, commonly known as heart attack, andstroke. Management of hypercholesterolemia is possible with different medications, dietary changes, and lifestyle improvements.
A Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)report shows that about 73.5 million or 31.7% of US adults have hypercholesterolemia. This increases therisk of heart problems for this population roughly twice as much compared to people with normal cholesterol levels.
Hypercholesterolemia or high blood cholesterol doesn’t cause any symptoms in most people. So, you may only get to know about elevated cholesterol levels through a blood test.
High cholesterol levels in the long term can lead to the formation of plaques or fatty deposits in the arteries, especially around the heart. At this stage, you may experience some symptoms related toheart diseases such as:
Aside from heart-related issues, other symptoms of high cholesterol include:
There are many causes of high blood cholesterol, but the most common are:
Genetics plays a big role in high blood cholesterol. Some people are born with a condition calledfamilial hypercholesterolemia, in which the body fails to remove LDL or bad cholesterol. In such cases, cholesterol continues to build up in the body even if the person eats healthy and exercises regularly.
If high cholesterol runs in your family, it's important to check your cholesterol levels and consult your doctor regularly.
Reports show that eating foods high in saturated and trans fats can significantly raise cholesterol levels.Processed foods, including red meat and full-fat dairy products, are common sources of these unhealthy fats.
Regular intake of such foods promotes the buildup of cholesterol in the blood vessels, resulting in complications like heart attack and stroke.
Reports show that a sedentary lifestyle, which involves a lack of physical activity, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption, contributes to high cholesterol.
Studies show that lack of physical activity lowers your body’s HDL cholesterol. Since HDL isnecessary to remove LDL, in a process called reverse cholesterol transport, and low HDL makes it harder to remove LDL cholesterol. Smokingdamages blood vessels, which makes cholesterol buildup worse.
Some other causes of high cholesterol includehypothyroidism,liver diseases, kidney diseases,diabetes, and certainprescription medications.
Depending on a person’s overall health, the definition of high cholesterol is different for each individual. For someone with risk factors like age, hypertension, or diabetes, cholesterol levels that might be normal for others could still be considered high for them.
For example, high cholesterol for a normal person is when LDL-cholesterol levels aregreater than 190 mg/dL. However, if you already have cardiovascular disease risk factors, as mentioned above, even 130 mg/dL will be classified as hypercholesterolemia for you.
Persistent high cholesterol levels should be a major concern for you as it can lead to some life-threatening conditions. Some complications of high cholesterol include:
When blood cholesterol is high, plaques start to form in the blood vessels, a condition calledatherosclerosis. These plaques may reduce the supply of blood to the heart, resulting in reduced oxygen supply to the heart.
When the plaques become significantly large, it results in angina and heart attack in severe cases. People with high cholesterol are advised to monitor heart health to avoid such serious complications.
Cholesterol plaques may also result in reduced oxygen supply to the brain. In severe cases, the arteries are completely blocked by plaques which can cause stroke.
Stoke is a condition where your brain cells die due to oxygen deficiency. A mild stroke attack can cause difficulty speaking and memory problems. Severe attack or stroke can cause paralysis or even death in some cases.
High cholesterol can lead to poor circulation in your legs and arms, resulting in a condition calledperipheral artery disease (PAD). This happens when high cholesterol causes plaque formation in the blood vessels of the arms and legs.
People with PAD typically experience pain, cramping, or numbness in their legs, especially when walking.
In most people, healthy dietary and lifestyle modifications are enough to control cholesterol levels. However, some people may requiremedications to bring cholesterol levels down to normal.
Here is a list of foods that can help with hypercholesterolemia:
Certain foods can worsen hypercholesterolemia as these increase LDL cholesterol levels in the blood and can lead to serious complications. Foods to avoid with high cholesterol include:
Lifestyle modifications are equally important to a selective diet in lowering cholesterol levels and reducing the risk of heart problems. Staying physically active and performing regular exercise is an effective way to improve hypercholesterolemia.
Areport published by the American Heart Association shows that different types of exercises can reduce LDL cholesterol and improve HDL cholesterol function. A2023 study shows that physical activity can improve cholesterol levels and lower the risk of cardiovascular problems.
Also, avoid smoking and alcohol intake with hypercholesterolemia, as they can put stress on the cardiovascular system. A2022 study shows that smoking and alcohol consumption are strongly associated with cardiovascular conditions.
If you detect elevated cholesterol levels on time and take necessary measures to prevent it from worsening, you can expect a long healthy life. However, when elevated cholesterol levels aren’t diagnosed on time, or people don’t opt for timely management, high cholesterol levels can result in life-threatening heart problems and stroke.
In simple words, very high cholesterol levels can reduce life expectancy by increasing the risk of early death as the result of cardiovascular problems.
Yes, you can live a normal life with high cholesterol if you make necessary dietary and lifestyle modifications to avoid worsening of hypercholesterolemia. Early detection and management can prevent the risk of life-threatening conditions from high cholesterol.
There can be several causes for high cholesterol and you can’t eliminate all the causes, such as genetics. Also, even if vegetarians eat mostly vegetables, they can still have high cholesterol due to certain cooking methods, like frying with oils high in saturated fats.
High cholesterol causes plaque formation in the blood vessels, which reduces blood flow. Reduced blood flow means your muscles and organs may not get oxygen and nutrients according to their demand. This causes low energy levels, and as a result, you feel fatigued.
Hypercholesterolemia is high LDL blood cholesterol. While certain amounts of cholesterol are healthy for the body, LDL cholesterol exceeding the normal range increases the risk of cardiovascular complications.
Treatment for high cholesterol typically involves dietary and lifestyle changes before proceeding with medications. Dietary changes include eating foods that are high in soluble fiber and low in unhealthy fats, especially trans fats. Lifestyle changes include increasing physical activity.
When dietary and lifestyle modifications aren’t working for you; you need to consult your healthcare provider for medications or any other treatment protocol.