Cholesterol and Heart Disease

There are many of us who are familiar with cholesterol and heart disease. And we aware the general perception of linking cholesterol as the primary cause of heart disease. Does this true or not? It appears to be a debate within the medical professionals on this. There are several heart studies who showed that high blood cholesterol is the primary factor for coronary heart disease or CHD, where there are other studies which put forward it is not conculsive.

What is cardiovascular disease?

Cardiovascular disease is a broad term that refers to diseases of the heart and blood vessels, including those that supply blood to the brain.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest health problem and the leading cause of sudden death.

Listed below are a few different consequences of cardiovascular disease;

• Heart attack - occurs when blood flow to the heart is interrupted or blocked
• Stroke - occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted or blocked
• Angina (chest pain) - occurs when blood vessels to the heart muscle are narrowed and the heart receives less oxygen than it needs
• Atherosclerosis - occurs when plaque containing cholesterol and other fats builds up inside the wall of an artery (a type of blood vessel)

These are just a few of the different consequences of cardiovascular disease. For more information, contact your doctor.

Studies show that if you do have a higher cholesterol level, you increase your risk of getting CHD. People who have low levels of cholesterol are not likely to get CHD.

Other experts believe there appears to be a connection between high blood cholesterol and heart disease. Studies show that if you do lower the bad cholesterol, you will drastically reduce your chances of getting coronary heart disease.

Recently, a set of trials were done on this issue, using drugs that lowered the total cholesterol. The use of these drugs which were statins greatly reduced the chance of having a heart attack, bypass surgery, and dying from coronary heart disease-related causes.

There are risk factors that may increase your risk of developing heart disease. There are some risk factors that can be changed, there are some that cannot. Overall, the more risk factors that you have the more likely you will be experience heart disease. This is just a common sense, but have you thought about it? Take the time to review these now, as there some risk factors that can be changed if you take action today.

* Age. The older you are, the high chance you get coronary heart disease. For males it is 45 years or older, and it is 55 years or older for females.
*Genetics. If you have a family history of a parent or relative who died of heart disease, you have a higher chance with CHD.

There are some risk factors that you can change:
* High levels of bad cholesterol.
* Low levels of good cholesterol.
* History of smoking.
* High Blood Pressure or genetic predisposition to high blood pressure because of family history.
* History of Diabetes or if it runs in your family.
* Not exercising and living a sedentary lifestyle.
* Obese or overweight.

You may want to consult a doctor if you are unsure as to whether you have high blood cholesterol and/or having high risk in CHD.

Role of cholesterol in cardiovascular disease

Cholesterol is a type of fat your body needs to make hormones and essential cell components. Your body makes most of the cholesterol it needs in the liver. Cholesterol is also present in some foods.

Too much cholesterol in the blood may block the arteries, especially the coronary arteries – blood vessels that supply oxygen to the heart.

Deposits of cholesterol in the coronary arteries cause the arteries to narrow – starving the heart of oxygen and increasing the risk of heart attack.

Blockages to the blood vessels of the brain can result in a stroke.

There are several different types of cholesterol. Each type has a different role in the body and not all types of cholesterol are harmful.

Lowering your Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) can significantly decrease your risk of developing heart disease or stroke.

Most experts agree that high cholesterol and heart disease are connected. However, there are some experts who disagree. They believe that too much animal fat and heart disease go together.

Besides there are some experts who believe that stress, physical activity and weight might influence the level of blood cholesterol. Some experts believe that it is not necessarily dangerous but it reflects an unhealthy lifestyle.

Experts go back and forth about these issues. It does not matter. The most important thing is for you to live a healthy lifestyle.

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