High Cholesterol

What is high cholesterol?

Your liver produces cholesterol, a fatty substance that helps your body make new cells, and produce hormones and vitamin D. You have two main types of cholesterol: 

• The “good” kind, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)
• The “bad” kind, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)

LDL cholesterol travels through your bloodstream, leaving deposits for your body to use. HDL cholesterol also travels through your blood, picking up any excess LDL cholesterol and carrying it back to your liver. 

You have high cholesterol when you have too much LDL cholesterol, and your HDL cholesterol can’t clean it all up. As a result, the cholesterol deposits turn into plaque in your blood vessels, hardening your arteries and narrowing the space available for your blood to circulate. 

What causes high cholesterol?

If other members of your family have high cholesterol, you have an increased risk of developing the condition, too. 

Your lifestyle also contributes to your chances of developing high cholesterol. For example, if you have a high-fat diet, don’t exercise, and use tobacco, you have a higher likelihood of developing high cholesterol and other health problems. 

Other risk factors include being obese or having a health condition like diabetes, kidney disease, or hypothyroidism. 

How is high cholesterol diagnosed?

Like high blood pressure, high cholesterol is a silent disease, and many patients don’t know their health is at risk until they have a heart attack or stroke. The team at Mannam Medical & Wellness provides comprehensive blood panels during your annual exam, which measure your cholesterol levels and other health indicators. 

Having routine preventive exams and blood tests is the best way to identify health problems like high cholesterol before they interfere with your health. 

How is high cholesterol treated?

The team at Mannam Medical & Wellness provides preventive care as well as personalized disease management and counseling. In its early stages, you can lower your cholesterol levels with lifestyle changes, such as dietary adjustments, increased physical activity, and giving up tobacco.

However, if lifestyle modifications don’t lower your cholesterol levels, your provider can prescribe medication to stop your liver from producing cholesterol or reduce the amount of cholesterol your body absorbs from the food you eat. 

If you have high cholesterol or haven’t had blood tests within the last couple of years, call Mannam Medical & Wellness today, or make an appointment online, to have a physical exam, including a cholesterol screening.