High Cholesterol

Avoid dangerous cholesterol levels and serious health problems.

Effective treatments are available to assist with high cholesterol.

Cholesterol plays an important role in the body, but having too much cholesterol in your blood can be unhealthy and can lead to serious health problems, such as coronary heart disease and stroke. It is believed that it affects 6% of adults in the UK, but many are unaware that they have it. In some cases cholesterol is hereditary but it can also develop as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle or other health conditions.

Treatment for high cholesterol usually involves amendments to diet and lifestyle, but some people may need to use prescription treatments in addition to these measures. However, it is better to start treatment sooner rather than later, to avoid serious complications.

What is high cholesterol?

Cholesterol is made up of fatty substances called lipids found naturally in the human body. It is a vital building block of our cells and makes up part of the outer layer of our cell membranes, insulates nerve cells and is instrumental in the production of hormones. Cholesterol is transported within the body by lipoproteins. Those that take it towards organs and cells are known as low-density lipoproteins (LDL), while those that transport cholesterol to the liver to broken down and excreted are high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Ideally HDL ('good cholesterol') levels should be higher than LDL ('bad cholesterol') in your body. People with high cholesterol have high levels of LDL and/or triglycerides in their blood. Triglycerides are the fatty substances that our body uses for energy, but if they are not used as energy they are stored in our body's fat reserves. Having too high a level of triglycerides in your blood is generally a cause for concern.

If more cholesterol is being transported to cells within the body than is being taken away, it can cause a build-up within arteries that can place a sufferer's health in significant risk.

What causes high cholesterol?

High cholesterol isn't just the result of consuming food containing a high level of cholesterol, but could also be the consequence of an unhealthy diet, obesity and lifestyle factors, such as excessive drinking and lack of exercise. Some groups of people may also have an elevated risk of developing high cholesterol because of an existing health condition, such as hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, underactive thyroid gland, kidney disease and liver disease.

Cholesterol can run in families and you may be more likely to develop it because of genetic factors. Age is also an unchangeable risk factor and for many people the likelihood of developing high cholesterol becomes more probable as they grow older.

What health problems can high cholesterol lead to?

High cholesterol in itself isn't a disease, so it is not likely to cause symptoms, but it can result in other serious health problems. If cholesterol is left to build up in blood vessels and arteries, it could lead to atherosclerosis, which is a narrowing of the arteries that can lead to coronary heart disease, blocking blood supply to the heart. High cholesterol can also lead to a stroke or a mini-stroke, also known as TIA, which are sudden disruptions in blood flow to the brain.

How can high cholesterol be treated?

The treatment for high cholesterol will depend on the level of LDL, HDL and triglycerides in your body and how close you are to developing coronary heart disease or stroke. A doctor will also look at your total cholesterol divided by your HDL levels, as well as your weight, family history and ethnicity when assessing which course of treatment will be the best option for you. If you have high blood cholesterol due to an existing health condition such as hypertension, getting treatment for it can be helpful.

Diet, exercise and lifestyle changes
A healthy diet and exercise accompanied by appropriate lifestyle changes are usually some of the first treatment methods recommended. A healthy diet should encompass food from all major food groups and as little as possible foods that are high in saturated fat. Triglyceride levels tend to be elevated by alcohol, so minimising intake of alcohol is also usually helpful in lowering cholesterol levels in the body, while exercise increases HDL that can remove excess cholesterol from your system.

Prescription medication
However if your life is at serious risk or these methods aren't producing the required results, medications may have to be considered. These are:

Statins – Statins prevent the liver from producing cholesterol, by blocking the enzyme that's key in its production, this means that there is less cholesterol being transported from the liver to other cells.

Nicacin – This B vitamin has been proven to lower LDL and triglyceride levels in the blood and increase HDL. It is not commonly recommended because of its potential to cause side effects.

Ezetimibe – This medication prevents cholesterol from being absorbed from food during the digestion process and can also be used in conjunction with statins.

Aspirin – Taking aspirin daily has the potential to prevent blood clots from forming.