Long Term Vs Short Term Stress And Cholesterol
If you have the odd day where you feel like youre at the end of your tether, dont worry about it too much. Its not the short-term stress that causes the increase in cholesterol levels. The studies show that those who suffer long term stress are the ones who are most likely to see all the negative side effects.
Sure, stress isnt good for you, but it is also a normal part of living. There are times that adrenaline and cortisol are needed. They can keep you going when you run out of energy or when going through trauma.
Those who suffer long term stress will have prolonged cortisol and adrenaline levels. Those hormones will be much higher than they need to be and in the body for much longer. They cause a range of health problems when around for long periods of time, including high blood pressure, insomnia, and even Type II diabetes. It shouldnt be surprising that high cholesterol levels are also a problem.
Healthy eating is an important lifestyle choice. Not only will it help to reduce the foods that cause cholesterol production but it can also reduce the cortisol release. Healthy foods protect the body, supply energy, and help to boost the production of happy hormones, which help to reduce the stress hormones.
How Stress Affects Your Heart Health
Everyone has stress from time to time, whether from work, financial trouble, family problems, or facing a big life change, like moving.
When youâre feeling strained, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol, hormones that rev up your heart, sharpen your brain, and help you deal with problems. A little stress may even be good for you by helping you focus on a challenge in your life and work harder to overcome it.
Constant stress is another story. If itâs nonstop and lasts for a long time, your stress hormones remain at high levels and put a dangerous strain on your heart and other parts of your body. High levels of cortisol from chronic or long-term stress can cause high blood cholesterol, along with other heart disease risks.
Over time, excess LDL, or âbad,â cholesterol can build up in your arteries, causing them to become clogged and hard. Stress also triggers inflammation that lowers your HDL, or âgood,â cholesterol, which helps clear out extra LDL.
In general, healthy adults should have:
- Total cholesterol: below 200 mg/dL
- LDL cholesterol: less than 100 mg/dL, or below 70 mg/dL for people with heart disease or diabetes
- HDL cholesterol: 40 mg/dL or higher for men, 50 mg/dL or higher for women
- Triglycerides: less than 150 mg/dL
Does Fatty Liver Cause High Cholesterol
liverfatty liverhigh cholesterol
Hepatitis, alcohol-related liver disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD are some of the most common liver diseases. One of the functions of the liver is to break down cholesterol. If the liver is not working properly, it can cause cholesterol to build up in the body.
Also, how do you remove fat from your liver? You can:
Subsequently, one may also ask, can high cholesterol cause elevated liver enzymes?
Share on Pinterest A doctor may recommend a blood test if high cholesterol is suspected. Usually, high cholesterol does not cause any symptoms. A liver function test is a blood test that can measure proteins and enzymes in the blood. The levels of these proteins and enzymes can show if the liver is damaged.
What causes a fatty liver?
Causes of fatty liver
- high levels of fat, especially triglycerides, in your blood.
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Lessen The Intensity Of Your Reaction To Stress
A study conducted by University of College London researches found that âindividuals with larger initial stress responses had substantially greater rises in cholesterol than those with small stress responses.â In fact, those in the top third of stress responders were three times more likely to have high cholesterol. Based on this study, researchers concluded, âIt appears that a person’s reaction to stress is one mechanism through which higher lipid levels may develop.â
Clearly, decreasing your reaction to stress will increase your health. Because stress is a key factor affecting your health on multiple levels, it is essential to find ways to manage stress in the best way possible. This will help reduce your risk of high cholesterol, which leads to greater risk of heart disease.
Learn About Other Precautions To Help You Stay Safe While Taking Statins
Statins are the most common medicine used to treat high blood cholesterol. Learn some tips to stay safe if your doctor gives you statins.
- Keep taking your statin medicine as prescribed. If you started taking a statin after you recently had a heart attack, a stroke, or another complication, you should not stop taking this medicine on your own, because that can increase your risk for a repeat event or even death. Ask your doctor if you have any concerns about your medication or if you would like to stop or change to a different treatment.
- Ask your doctor what medicines, nutritional supplements, or foods you should avoid. Some of these can interact with statins to cause serious side effects or make them less effective. For example, grapefruit affects how your liver breaks down some statins.
- Tell your doctor about any symptoms or side effects. Sometimes, people report muscle problems while taking statins. If you start having muscle pain, your doctor may order a blood test to look for muscle damage. The pain may go away if you switch to a different statin. Muscle damage with statins is rare, and your muscles may heal when you switch to a different medicine.
- If you are a woman who is planning to become pregnant, talk to your doctor about your options. You should stop taking statins about three months before getting pregnant. Also, you should not take statins if you are breastfeeding.
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Other Effects Of Stress On The Heart
Stress can also have other effects on the body, some of which can be dangerous.
In a person with coronary heart disease , mental stress can lead to ischemic heart disease, a condition in which the heart does not receive enough blood.
According to a study published in 2013, when stress leads to a reduction in blood supply to the heart, this can increase the risk of a heart attack.
The researchers took measurements of heart ischemia from 310 people with stable CHD. When they faced mental stress, nearly 44 percent of the participants showed signs of heart ischemia.
The participants were more at risk of developing mental stress-related ischemia than exercise-related ischemia, the results showed.
The authors of the research also discussed how sex, marriage, and living arrangements could influence heart problems. They call for more research into these factors.
The Cardiovascular Reactivity Theory
Researchers have found that some peoples cardiovascular system reacts more than others in response to stress. For example, some peoples blood pressure rises more than others at stressful times.
The cardiovascular reactivity hypothesis suggests that stress may increase the risk of heart disease in certain people. Often, a person with high cholesterol levels is already at a higher risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack. Stress could trigger such an event.
When people have high cholesterol, the walls of their arteries experience changes. Sometimes, these changes make the arteries less elastic, so the blood vessels are less able to open up in response to stress.
Scientists have a reasonable understanding of the indirect effects of stress on cholesterol. For example, they know that when a person faces stress, they may be more likely to engage in certain behaviors that can increase or decrease cholesterol levels.
Factors that may indirectly cause cholesterol to rise include:
Dietary changes: In the short term, a person experiencing stress may not want to eat. In the long-term, however, the hormonal impact of stress can increase a persons appetite.
Alcohol and tobacco: A person experiencing stress may increase their alcohol intake, and they may smoke more, or return to smoking after quitting.
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What Causes High Ldl
Simon has been an online writer for over six years. He has a Graduate degree in life science and writes frequently about health topics
Its important to know what causes high LDL or bad cholesterol. Knowing what increases LDL levels and eliminating these cholesterol-raising factors can prevent LDL numbers from climbing and thereby help maintain good health. Here are the culprits that can raise LDL cholesterol, and as a result, increase the risk of heart disease.
Eggs
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Family History And Genetics
Family members usually have similar cholesterol levels. This suggests that your genes can raise your risk of having unhealthy cholesterol levels.
In addition, your genes may raise your risk for another type of bad cholesterol. High levels of lipoprotein-a, also called Lp, may mean you are at high risk of heart or blood vessel diseases, even if your other cholesterol levels are healthy. Genes determine how much Lp you have. Your Lp level is unlikely to change much from childhood to old age.
Lp is not usually part of a routine lipid panel. Your doctor may order an Lp test if you have a family history of early heart or blood vessel disease, such as heart attack, or do not know your family medical history. If you have a high Lp level, your doctor may prescribe a statin to prevent heart and blood vessel disease, even if your other cholesterol levels are in the healthy range.
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Health Problems That Raise Cholesterol Levels
While genes or an unhealthy diet are often the causes of high cholesterol, many health conditions can also be culprits.
More than 73 million American adults have high cholesterol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , but no two cases of high cholesterol are exactly alike.
Many people have high cholesterol because of physical inactivity or a diet too high in saturated fats, or because it runs in the family. But having other health conditions can also cause high cholesterol levels, especially conditions that affect your metabolism, such as diabetes or;hypothyroidism .
Other Causes Of High Cholesterol
People are often surprised to find out they have high cholesterol or triglycerides in their blood.High levels of blood fats; which include cholesterol and triglycerides; can have many causes. These include your lifestyle,;genes, age, gender and ethnic background;and these can all add up. Here you can take a look at some of the lesser-known causes, which include other health problems and certain medicines. Doctors might call these ‘secondary causes’ of high cholesterol.
Learn about changing your lifestyle to help lower your cholesterol;
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Medical Causes That Raise Your Cholesterol Levels
Certain drugs and hormonal therapies;are known to cause hyperlipidemia. They are classified as medical causes and include:
- Estrogen;and;corticosteroids;can raise the levels of triglycerides and HDL.
- Oral contraceptives
- Beta blockers prescribed for hypertension and glaucoma
- Diuretics prescribed for hypertension and to get rid of extra accumulated fluid in the body.
Job Stress May Raise Our ‘bad Cholesterol’ Levels
‘A stressful job really can kill you; by raising your cholesterol,’ reports the Mail Online website. This headline is based on Spanish research that looked at the relationship between job stress and lipid levels in the blood of more than 90,000 people.
The research found that people who reported difficulties coping with their job had higher levels of what has been dubbed “bad cholesterol” and lower levels of “good cholesterol” .;High levels of LDL cholesterol can clog up the arteries, increasing an individual’s risk of developing;cardiovascular diseases;such as coronary heart disease.
A significant strength of this study is its size;;an impressive 90,000 people participated. But the study did not look at diet, which can also;affect cholesterol levels.;It could well be the case that people in stressful jobs tend to have unhealthy diets and it is this, rather than stress itself, that is to blame for their higher “bad” cholesterol rates.
While increased LDL levels are a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, this study did not;explore the effect this would have;on people’s long-term health. The Mail Online’s claim that a stressful job will kill you;is therefore;not supported by this study.
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Who Is At Risk For High Ldl Cholesterol
TheAmerican Heart Association recommends that every adult over age 20 get screened regularly for high cholesterol. You can have this blood test done as part of your yearly physical. You may want to pay special attention to your levels if you have high blood pressure, are over 45 or 50 , smoke, or have a family history of high cholesterol.
You may also be at risk if your diet is poor, youre relatively sedentary , or youre under a great deal of stress. Scientists are now also exploring the link between sleep and high cholesterol.
Sleep , researchers discovered that both too much and too little sleep have a negative impact on lipid levels. They examined a group of 1,666 men and 2,329 women over age 20. Sleeping less than five hours at night raised the risk of high triglycerides and low HDL levels in women. Getting more than eight hours of sleep produced a similar result. Men were not as sensitive to oversleeping as women.
Too little sleep also leads to high levels of LDL cholesterol, according to a study published by the . Individuals who slept less than six hours each night greatly increased their risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In addition, the researchers uncovered that snoring is associated with lower levels of the good HDL cholesterol.
But Wait Doesnt Cholesterol Build Up And Block Arteries
While its true that cholesterol does factor in to the accumulation of plaque in the arteries, to contribute to a blockage the cholesterol must first be oxidized. Oxidized cholesterol does not exist in whole fatty foods like eggs, but when its processed into something else, such as a hydrogenated oil or powdered eggs, it suffers free radical damage and becomes oxidized.
This makes the cholesterol sticky enough to latch onto the inside lining of the arteries, triggering inflammation and the formation of arterial plaque. This has nothing to do with high or low cholesterol levels; it has to do with the oxidation of the cholesterol, a situation that can be managed by controlling inflammation via the intake of antioxidant nutrients.
Its not controlled by lowering cholesterol with statins. At the Save Institute, we never recommend taking either bisphosphonates or statins. Rather, the Saver approach is to manage health through nutrition and the consumption of foods high in the aforementioned antioxidants, which were going to look at in a moment. First, I want to point out a very important connection between high serum lipoproteins and fracture risk.
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How To Prevent High Cholesterol
If you have any of the health conditions listed above, you’re at risk for developing high cholesterol but you can take steps to prevent it. Getting;regular exercise;and improving your diet by reducing your intake of foods high in saturated fat ;can go a long way to keep cholesterol levels down and protect your heart health.
Discuss your risk of high cholesterol with your doctor. Monitoring your cholesterol levels with a simple blood test is important for getting to a healthy goal and lowering your risk of heart attack. Your doctor may recommend that you take a cholesterol-lowering medication, if needed, to get to the cholesterol level that’s best for you;to keep your risk of heart disease as low as possible.
Learn The Warning Signs Of Serious Complications And Have A Plan
High blood cholesterol can lead to serious cardiovascular complications, such as heart attack or stroke. If you think that you are or someone else is having the following symptoms,;Every minute matters.
Heart attack
Heart attack symptoms include mild or severe chest pain or discomfort in the center of the chest or upper abdomen that lasts for more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back. This discomfort can feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness, heartburn, or indigestion. There also may be pain down the left arm or in the neck. Although both men and women can experience these symptoms, women are more likely to have other, less typical symptoms, such as shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, unusual tiredness, and pain in the back, shoulders, or jaw. Read more about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.
Stroke
If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T. and perform the following simple test.
FFace:;Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
AArms:;Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
SSpeech:;Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
TTime:;If you observe any of these signs, . Early treatment is essential.
Read more about the;signs and symptoms of a stroke.
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What Is Considered Dangerously High Cholesterol
Total cholesterol levels less than 200 milligrams per deciliter are considered desirable for adults. A reading between 200 and 239 mg/dL is considered borderline high and a reading of 240 mg/dL and above is considered high. A reading of less than 40 mg/dL is considered a major risk factor for heart disease.