Heart Disease: Blood Cholesterol
Your heart, already in a
weakened state, needs to be protected from the effects of cholesterol. If your
cholesterol is raised too high, you could be at risk for a heart attack or
stroke.
There are a variety of
factors that affect your cholesterol level, including your diet, weight and
level of physical activity. Other factors that affect your cholesterol level
include age, gender and heredity, which you cannot control.
Treating High Cholesterol
The main goal in lowering
your cholesterol is to lower your LDL (bad cholesterol) level so you reduce
your risk of heart disease.
You can manage your
cholesterol and lower it through lifestyle change and, if necessary, also through
medication.
Lifestyle changes includea low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol diet. This diet calls for less than
seven percent of calories from saturated fat and less than 200 mg of dietary
cholesterol per day, and recommends you consume only enough calories to
maintain a desirable weight and avoid weight gain. If your LDL is still high
after reducing your intake of saturated fats and cholesterol, you should
increase the amount of soluble fiber in your diet.
If you are overweight,
losing weight can help lower your LDL and is especially important if you have
risk factors that include high triglyceride and/or low HDL levels and are
overweight with a large waist measurement (more than 40 inches for men and more
than 35 inches for women).
Physical activity can help
raise HDL and lower LDL and is especially important if you have high
triglyceride and/or low HDL levels and are overweight with a large waist
measurement. You should be physically active for at least 30 minutes on most,
if not all days.
Medications
If you have high
cholesterol, it's important to consult your physician about a treatment plan,
which may include drug treatment. According to the
National Heart, Lung and Blood
Institute, even if you
begin drug treatment to lower your cholesterol, you will need to continue your
lifestyle changes.
There are several types
of drugs available to help lower cholesterol, including:
- Statins, which are
effective in lowering LDL levels and are safe for most people
- Bile Acid Sequestrants,
which lower LDL and can be used alone or in combination with statin drugs
- Nicotinic Acid, which
lowers LDL and triglycerides and raises HDL
- Fibric Acids, which
somewhat lower LDL but are mainly used to treat high triglyceride and low
HDL levels
- Cholesterol Absorption
Inhibitors, which lower LDL and can be used alone or in combination with
statin drugs
Please consult your
physician to help determine your LDL level and to decide which type of drug
treatment plan is best for you.
