The only way to measure cholesterol is to get a blood test. Sometimes your doctor will call this blood test a 'lipid profile' or 'lipid test'. Lipid is another word for fat, so this test includes your cholesterol and your triglyceride levels. Usually you will have to go to your closest laboratory lab for the blood test. Sometimes the practice nurse can take the blood at your doctor's practice.
Some New Zealand pharmacies also offer a cholesterol testing service. This is a finger-prick test that measures the same things as the blood tests. If the reading is high, your pharmacist will send you to your GP for a follow-up appointment. If you haven't had a cholesterol test before, talk to your doctor or nurse about when you should have one. If you're at higher risk of heart attack or stroke because of your or family's health history, then you may need one at a younger age. There isn't a normal cholesterol level that applies to everyone.
Your ideal cholesterol level depends on your overall risk of heart attack and stroke. To help know this, your GP or other health provider may do a cardiovascular risk assessment. If you are at high risk of a stroke or heart attack you should aim to have an LDL cholesterol level less than 1. This picture shows what it looks like if you have low cholesterol, normal cholesterol and bad cholesterol levels.
Sometimes health professionals talk about the terms dyslipidaemia and hyperlipidaemia. Both are clinical terms that mean your levels of cholesterol are outside the normal range. You won't know if you have high cholesterol because it doesn't usually have symptoms. The only way to know is to have a blood test. When your cholesterol is too high it can build up as plaque in your arteries. If the plaque gets too big, or breaks off, it can cause a heart attack and stroke. This risk also increases when your triglycerides are too high.
Your doctor will use the results of your blood test and your other heart attack risk factors to decide whether you need medication to lower your cholesterol or triglyceride levels. Different things that can cause high cholesterol.
Some of these causes you can change and some of them you can't. The good news is there's lots of ways to manage these risks. Read about lowering your cholesterol. If you have one of these conditions, you may not be able to reduce your levels using lifestyle changes alone. You may need to go on medication as well. When you have healthy levels of HDL cholesterol, it can help lower your risk of blood clots, heart disease, and stroke.
Triglycerides are another type of lipid. While your body uses cholesterol to build cells and certain hormones, it uses triglycerides as a source of energy. When you eat more calories than your body can use right away, it converts those calories into triglycerides. It stores triglycerides in your fat cells. It also uses lipoproteins to circulate triglycerides through your bloodstream. If you regularly eat more calories than your body can use, your triglyceride levels may become too high.
This can raise your risk of several health problems, including heart disease and stroke. Your doctor can use a simple blood test to measure your triglyceride level, as well as your cholesterol levels.
If you have a history of high cholesterol or other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, your doctor may encourage you to get your cholesterol levels tested more often. Your doctor can use a lipid panel to measure your total cholesterol level, as well your LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Your total cholesterol level is the overall amount of cholesterol in your blood.
If your levels of total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol are too high, your doctor may diagnose you with high cholesterol. If your doctor does prescribe you medication, different factors may influence the type of medication they recommend. With this in mind, most physicians use generalized measurements to decide on treatment plans. They may categorize these measurements as desirable, borderline high, or high cholesterol. According to the National Library of Medicine , the total cholesterol of most adults can be categorized as:.
Again, these measurements are general. You and your doctor will consider other personal factors before deciding on a treatment plan. Your body needs some cholesterol to function properly, including some LDL. But if your LDL levels are too high, it can raise your risk of serious health problems.
In , the American College of Cardiologists and the American Heart Association updated their recommendations for the treatment of high cholesterol.
Under the new guidelines, in addition to your cholesterol levels, treatment recommendations analyze other risk factors for heart disease, such as family history and other health issues. Without treatment, high cholesterol can cause plaque to build up in your arteries. Over time, this plaque can narrow your arteries. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a serious condition.
It can limit the flow of blood through your arteries. It also raises your risk of developing dangerous blood clots. High cholesterol can also create a bile imbalance, raising your risk of gallstones. See the other ways that high cholesterol can impact your body. If you have high cholesterol, your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes to help lower it. For instance, they may recommend changes to your diet, exercise habits, or other aspects of your daily routine. If you smoke, they will likely advise you to quit.
Your doctor may also prescribe medications or other treatments to help lower your cholesterol levels. In some cases, they may refer you to a specialist for more care.
To help you achieve and maintain healthy cholesterol levels, your doctor may recommend changes to your diet. Eating fish and other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids may also help lower your LDL levels.
For example, salmon, mackerel, and herring are rich sources of omega-3s. But it can be mostly preventable; keeping your cholesterol levels down is one way to cut your risk. For most people, high cholesterol has no symptoms at all, according to the AHA.
But when it causes plaque buildup in larger arteries in your heart, coronary artery disease can result, which can involve angina tightness in the chest , chest pain, arrhythmia irregular heartbeat , and shortness of breath that can leave you low on energy, notes the NHLBI.
Coronary artery disease is the most common heart disease, but many people have no idea they have it until they suffer a heart attack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC. If your numbers are too high, you can take steps to lower your risk for both heart disease and stroke.
Besides following a healthy diet and getting regular exercise, take medications as instructed if your doctor prescribes them. High cholesterol alone is not thought to cause erectile dysfunction ED , but plaque-clogged arteries can, because blood flow is essential to an erection, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Both of these factors can lead to ED as well. While stress is not a primary cause of high cholesterol, it may still have an effect on cholesterol levels.
A study published in May in the journal Medicine found that in people who experienced stress due to work or personal conflict, higher stress was a risk factor for high cholesterol. And when you are feeling stressed and pressed for time, you may be less likely to follow heart-healthy lifestyle measures, such as eating a nutritious diet and getting exercise.
The study found that regular physical exercise had a strong protective effect against cholesterol. In addition to statins, which should always be used first, other cholesterol-lowering drugs include fibrates, niacin , PCSK9 inhibitors, bile-acid sequestrants, and cholesterol absorption inhibitors, according to the CDC.
If you found out your cholesterol was high after a routine checkup, discuss your test results with your doctor. Your doctor will calculate your individual risk of heart attack or stroke to decide if you should be on a statin. In some cases, the doctor may recommend giving a healthy diet and active lifestyle a try first.
However, if your cholesterol levels remain high, you may need a heart scan to look for plaque buildup in your arteries, and your doctor may prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs to lower your heart-disease and stroke risk.
According to a study published in April in the journal Circulation , a healthy lifestyle — defined as not smoking, doing moderate exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and following a healthy diet — was associated with an average of 14 more years of life for women and 12 for men.
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