DISORDER OF CHOLESTEROL

Cholesterol is a very important compound in the body. However, cholesterol disorders and imbalance cause many diseases. Cholesterol disorders treatment is usually preformed with the help of medications, unless imbalanced cholesterol has caused complications. Why is it so important to monitor your cholesterol levels and how can the negative consequences be prevented? Let us share this vital information with you.

Cholesterol is the waxy substance found in fats in the blood (lipids). Although having some cholesterol is important for cell growth, having too much can increase the risk of heart disease.

If cholesterol levels are too high, fatty deposits can form in the blood vessels, making it hard for the blood to flow through the arteries. This is what is known as hyperlipidemia.

Cholesterol; cholesterol disorders; Cholesterol disorders treatment

Hypolipidemia, on the other hand is when there are unusually low levels of fat in the blood. This is often referred to as low blood cholesterol.

SYMPTOMS OF CHOLESTEROL DISORDER

Typically, high cholesterol doesn’t cause any symptoms. In the vast majority of cases, the only real symptoms may cause an emergency event.

HOW DOES HIGH CHOLESTEROL CAUSE HEART DISEASE?

Atherosclerosis

A form of heart diseases occurs when there is too much cholesterol in your blood and it builds up in the walls of your arteries. When this happens, the arteries become narrowed and bloodflow to the heart muscle is slowed down or blocked.
Blood carries oxygen to the heart and when not enough blood and oxygen reach your heart, you may experience chest pain. On the other hand, if the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by a blockage, this can result in a heart attack.

Cholesterol and Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is the main risk from high cholesterol. When your cholesterol level is too high, it can build up in the walls of your arteries. Over a period of time, this build-up known as plaque can cause atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). This causes arteries to become narrowed which will slow the blood flow to the heart muscle. A reduce in blood flow can result in angina (chest pain) or a heart attack if a blood vessel gets blocked completely.

Cholesterol and Stroke

Atherosclerosis may cause arteries that lead to the brain to become narrowed and even blocked. If a vessel carrying blood to the brain is completely blocked, you could have a stroke.

Cholesterol and Peripheral Vascular Disease

High cholesterol has also been linked to peripheral vascular disease. These are the diseases of blood vessels outside the heart and brain. Fatty deposits build up along artery walls and affect blood circulation in this condition. This mainly occurs in arteries that lead to the legs and feet.

Cholesterol and Diabetes

Diabetes can upset the balance between HDL and LDL cholesterol levels. Patients who have diabetes tend to have LDL particles that stick to arteries and damage blood vessel walls more easily. Glucose (sugar) attaches to lipoproteins (a type of cholesterol-protein package that enables cholesterol to travel through blood). Sugar-coated LDL stays in the bloodstream longer and may lead to the formation of plaque. Patients with diabetes tend to have low HDL and high triglyceride (another kind of blood fat) levels. Both of these conditions can boost the risk of heart and artery disease.

Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol also are linked. As your arteries hardened and becomes narrowed with cholesterol plaque and calcium, the heart has to strain much harder to pump blood through them. This results in blood pressure becoming abnormally high. High blood pressure is also linked to heart disease.

CHOLESTEROL DISORDERS TREATMENT

  • Healthy lifestyle: Eating foods with low levels of total fat and saturated fat, maintaining a healthy weight and regular exercise are all ways of lowering high blood cholesterol.
  • Statins: Medication used to block a particular substance the liver needs to produce cholesterol. This in turn makes the liver remove cholesterol from the blood.
  • Cholesterol absorption inhibitors: These substances lower the amount of dietary cholesterol absorbed by the small intestines.

FOOD AND DRUGS TO AVOID WHILE TAKING CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING MEDICATION

Talk to your doctor about the other drugs you are taking (including herbals and vitamins) and their impact on cholesterol-lowering drugs. You should avoid drinking grapefruit juice while taking certain types of cholesterol-lowering drugs. This is because it can interfere with the liver’s ability to metabolize these medications.

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES AVAILBLE FOR DETECTING CHOLESTEROL LEVEL

Blood tests: Lipid panel tests are the only way of diagnosing high cholesterol. These tests measure:

  • Total cholesterol
  • Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), otherwise known as “bad” cholesterol
  • High-density lipoprotein (HDL), otherwise known as “good” cholesterol
  • Triglycerides is kind of fat found in the blood

CT COROS: A computerized tomography (CT) coronary angiogram is an imaging test that explores health of the arteries that supply your heart with blood. This test is essential to determine severity of possible narrowings and blockages in your heart blood vessels.