What You Can Do About Cholesterol And Heart Disease

By Dr. Sam Robbins

New cells, insulated nerves, and produced hormones are what your body builds with the help of cholesterol. All the cholesterol the body needs is made by the liver. Cholesterol enters your body from food, like animal based foods like milk, eggs and meat. A major risk factor for heart disease is too much cholesterol.

A form of heart disease, atherosclerosis, is caused when too much cholesterol is in the blood which builds up in the walls of your arteries. The arteries become narrowed and blood flow to the heart muscle is slowed down or blocked. Your heart gets oxygen from the blood. When you do not get enough blood and oxygen to your heart, it might cause chest pains. A heart attack can happen when the blood supply to a part of your heart is completely cut off by a blockage.

There are two forms of cholesterol that most Americans are familiar with: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad" cholesterol) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good" cholesterol.) These are the form in which cholesterol travels in the blood. LDLs have little protein and high levels of cholesterol and HDL has a lot of protein and very little cholesterol.

LDL is the main source of artery clogging plaque. HDL actually works to clear cholesterol from the blood.

Another fat in the bloodstream is triglycerides. According to research, high levels of triglycerides are linked to heart disease.

People are unaware that their cholesterol levels are too high because there are no symptoms of high cholesterol. This makes it vital to find out what your cholesterol numbers are because lowering the cholesterol level that are too high reduces the chance of heart disease, even if you already have heart disease.

It is recommended that everyone over the age of twenty get their cholesterol levels measured at least every five years. Lipoprotein profile is the blood test that is performed. - 32002

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