6 Facts About High Cholesterol You Need to Know
High cholesterol isn’t something you can notice any time, but it does mean that you’re at an increased risk for — or might even already have — cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death for both women and men in the U.S. Since the problem can affect anyone, it’s essential to know some facts about high cholesterol.
1. Can high cholesterol be genetic?
If you follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly but still suffer from high cholesterol, your DNA might be a bigger factor than your lifestyle choices. Approximately 1 in 250 people in the United States has familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a life-threatening inherited condition that leads to high cholesterol.
Unfortunately, 90 percent of people who have this disorder don’t know it. Screening for high cholesterol is the only way to identify people who suffer from familial hypercholesterolemia. Due to this, all children should have a cholesterol screening once between ages 9 and 11.
If your LDL is above 100, it’s already considered high. If it’s higher than 190, you might have FH. If a parent has FH, their child has a chance of developing it as well. Finding out if you have FH — and getting treated if you do — is essential, since having FH significantly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease.
2. Does high cholesterol cause fatigue?
High cholesterol doesn’t typically provoke fatigue, but it can contribute to heart conditions, including coronary artery disease, that can make you feel tired all the time. With these diseases, excess LDL builds up in the heart's small arteries, making them narrowed and stiff. This causes poor blood flow, which can make you feel fatigued or short of breath and trigger chest pain.
If you’re taking a statin to treat high cholesterol levels, fatigue can occur as a possible side effect. Other side effects of this medication include memory loss, forgetfulness, and confusion.
3. Can high cholesterol make me feel bad?
Most people with high cholesterol don’t develop any symptoms. However, when it causes plaque buildup in larger arteries located in the heart, resulting in coronary artery disease, this can contribute to angina (tightness in the chest), chest pain, arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), and shortness of breath. These symptoms can actually leave you low on energy.
4. What are the effects of high cholesterol on the body?
High cholesterol levels can contribute to stiffening and narrowing of the arteries. A buildup of plaque that consists of cholesterol, fats, your cells’ waste products, calcium, and fibrin limit or block blood flow through the arteries. Therefore, cholesterol matters. Poor blood flow to your brain or heart can provoke a stroke or heart attack.
5. How to lower cholesterol naturally?
There are a lot of lifestyle changes that can help you lower your cholesterol, and they fall under the categories of diet and exercise.
Consuming heart-healthy foods on a daily basis is a good place to start. This means limiting your consumption of red meat and full-fat dairy products, both of which are high in saturated fats that can increase cholesterol. Instead, focus on eating lean proteins like chicken, turkey, and seafood. Don’t forget to add more soluble fiber to your diet by eating fruits, vegetables, and oatmeal. Exercising most days of the week can also reduce lower cholesterol.
6. Is there a link between stress and high cholesterol?
Though stress doesn’t directly cause high cholesterol, it might still have an adverse effect on cholesterol levels. According to a study published in May 2017 in the journal Medicine, in people who have stress related to work or personal conflict, higher stress becomes a risk factor for high cholesterol. And when your body is stressed for a long period of time, you might be less likely to follow heart-healthy lifestyle measures, like consuming a nutritious diet and getting exercise. According to the 2017 study, regular physical exercise has a strong protective effect against cholesterol.
