High Cholesterol

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.

• 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.

• 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.

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