Why Should You Worry About High Cholesterol? By Julia Carmichael At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Eventually, high cholesterol can kill you. That should be reason enough to make you worry about whether your cholesterol levels are too high. High cholesterol can block your arteries causing heart attack or stroke.

Cholesterol is a fatty wax like substance that is produced by your body to help preserve cell function. On top of the cholesterol your body produces, you also add to your cholesterol level by the foods you eat. The more fat your diet includes, the more likely you are to have a high cholesterol level.

Stress
In addition to how much cholesterol your body produces naturally and the amount you consume, there are some other factors that can cause you to have a higher cholesterol level. These include having Type 2 Diabetes, kidney disease or liver disease. Cholesterol can also be increased by stress, hypothyroidism and some medications such as progestins and steroids.

Having a high cholesterol level is bad for your body because the excess cholesterol in your blood can be deposited onto the walls of your arteries. This causes a hard substance called plaque to form inside the arteries. Besides this plaque, scar tissue can also build up in your arteries because of the damage done to your arteries by the plaque. This build up of plaque and scar tissue causes the arteries to become hard as well as becoming more narrow.

Blockage
The narrowing of the arteries makes it difficult for blood to flow properly while the hardness can cause the walls of the arteries to tear. In trying to stop the body from bleeding, your body will form a clot at the site of the arterial tear. However, even this self-preserving action is bad because the clot can break free inside the artery and cause the already narrowed artery to become completely blocked. A heart attack or stroke may result from this blockage.

It should also be noted there are two types of cholesterol. They are HDL and LDL or so called good and bad cholesterol. The HDL cholesterol, or good cholesterol, is the type that carries cholesterol out of your arteries to the liver where it is excreted from the body. It is all right for this cholesterol to be high. In fact, doctors will encourage you to raise this cholesterol level to improve your heart health. It is the LDL cholesterol that is bad for you and can cause heart attack and stroke. It is dangerous for this bad cholesterol to be too high because it is this cholesterol that builds up and blocks your arteries.

High cholesterol levels can be dangerous and bad for your health. According to statistics, high cholesterol claims a life through stroke or heart attack every 33 seconds. A good rule of thumb is to have your blood cholesterol level checked yearly. If it is too high, your doctor can suggest lifestyle changes or medications that can help get your levels back in balance.

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