What Cholesterol Level Is Too High

Heart Uk Recommendations For People With High Levels Of Hdl

If you have a family history of early heart disease

Ideally your doctor should contact a lipid specialist for advice if:

• your HDL cholesterol level is higher than average with no obvious cause
• and other people in your family, such as a parent or sibling, have heart disease and were diagnosed below the age of 60.

If your total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol are high

If your total cholesterol is over 7.5mmol, with HDL over 2.5mmol, then your doctor should base their treatment decision mainly on your LDL cholesterol .

Raised LDL cholesterol puts your heart health at risk so it needs to be brought under control.

Note that the TC/HDL ratio may be misleading if your HDL is high.

Look after your overall health

If you have high cholesterol, its important to lower your risk of heart disease overall. Try to adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle and manage any other health problems you have that can lead to heart disease. For example:

Who Should Get One And How Often

Everyone should get regular cholesterol checks, although the optimal frequency depends on age and certain health risk factors.

The American Heart Association recommends cholesterol testing for most adults every 46 years , starting at the age of 20 years. This testing will continue as long as they have a low risk of stroke or heart attack. After the age of 40 years, a doctor will calculate a persons risk and may suggest more frequent testing.

Some people have an increased risk of developing high cholesterol and may need additional testing. These individuals include:

• people with a family history of heart disease or high cholesterol
• anyone who had high cholesterol levels in a previous test
• people with type 2 diabetes

lower LDL cholesterol levels than males on average, but their levels may increase after menopause.

Children should also undergo cholesterol tests. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend testing a childs cholesterol levels once at age 911 years and again between the ages of 17 and 21 years.

Cholesterol testing generally does not take place during puberty because hormones can alter the results of the test.

What Can Happen If You Have Atherosclerosis

If your arteries become clogged up with blood fats your blood can’t flow around your body as easily. This can lead to a number of diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

These are known together as cardiovascular disease or CVD cardio refers to the heart, and vascular refers to the blood vessels.

• Coronary heart disease

  This is where the arteries have become clogged up and stiff. The blood cant flow around the body and back to the heart easily, and blood clots can form. This can lead to chest pain, heart failure, heart attacks and strokes. This is the most common type of heart disease.

• Angina

  This is a dull, heavy or tight pain in the chest which can spread to the left arm, neck, jaw or back. It happens when the arteries leading to the heart have become narrowed and the heart can’t get enough blood. The pain is caused by a lack of oxygen. It can be brought on by exercise or activity, as the heart needs more oxygen during physical activity.

• Heart attack

  This is a medical emergency. It happens when an artery leading to the heart becomes completely blocked, often by a blood clot, cutting off the blood supply. Part of the heart muscle quickly dies, but if its treated quickly, the blockage can be removed.If you think you or someone you are with is having a heart attack, call 999 straight away. The signs of a heart attack include:

• a crushing pain in the chest
• sweating
• suddenly feeling very anxious.

Find out about coronavirus if you have heart disease

Read Also: How Long After Stopping Statins Does Cholesterol Increase

Getting Help For Your Child

If you are worried about your child’s weight, consider consulting with a registered dietitian or expressing your concerns with your pediatrician.

Children can benefit from getting involved in meal planning, shopping, and cooking, reducing intake of sweetened beverages, and learning how to eat more fruits and vegetables. Being a good role model and getting the entire family on board is also important for making changes and providing your child with confidence.

Ways To Prevent High Cholesterol

You can prevent high cholesterol the same way you can help lower itby living a healthy lifestyle focused on a heart-healthy diet and exercise. Other strategies that can help prevent high cholesterol include:

• Quitting smoking
• Getting enough good quality sleep
• Limit alcohol intake

However, if you have familial hypercholesterolemia, you may not be able to prevent it. You can work with your doctor to detect it early and manage it to prevent complications.

You May Like: How Much Cholesterol Is Good Per Day

Check To See What’s Working

During regular screening appointments, your doctor will check your cholesterol levels to see if the changes youââ¬â¢ve made have gotten you to your cholesterol goal.

If lifestyle changes arenââ¬â¢t enough to lower borderline high cholesterol, your doctor may talk to you about medication.

Show Sources

How Is The Total Cholesterol Or Blood Cholesterol Test Done

A blood test is a routine test. A phlebotomist is a person whose job is to draw blood. Blood is usually drawn from the vein in your arm. You will sit down and the phlebotomist will wrap a rubber band around your upper arm so that the vein in your elbow sticks out. Then they will use a needle to puncture the vein and remove blood. The blood is sent to the lab to be examined.

Youve probably been at health fairs where testing is offered. In that case, the person performing the test takes a drop of blood from your finger. The finger-stick test uses a small blade to poke a hole in the tip of your finger to get the blood.

You May Like: How High Is High Cholesterol

What Complications Are Possible If You Dont Treat High Cholesterol Levels In Your Blood

The main reason to treat high cholesterol is to prevent or treat coronary heart disease , also called coronary artery disease or CAD. CHD happens when heart is not able to get enough oxygen-rich blood to function well and kills more people in the U.S. than any other cause of death. CHD usually refers to the large arteries, but there is also a condition called coronary microvascular disease that affects the small vessels and causes damage.

What Are The Signs Of An Unhealthy Heart

Symptoms of heart disease in your blood vessels Chest pain, chest tightness, chest pressure and chest discomfort Shortness of breath. Pain, numbness, weakness or coldness in your legs or arms if the blood vessels in those parts of your body are narrowed. Pain in the neck, jaw, throat, upper abdomen or back.

Also Check: How Much Cholesterol In Pork Chops

Don’t Miss: Are Ritz Crackers High In Cholesterol

What Causes High Hdl Levels

A few things can push your HDL level above 60 mg/dL. You can control some of these factors. Others you canât.

Your genes. Certain genes make you more likely to have high HDL cholesterol. Inherited high HDL sometimes protects against heart disease, but sometimes it increases the risk.

For example, people with a change in the gene SCARB1 have larger than normal HDL cholesterol particles in their blood that increase their heart disease risk.

Some people of Japanese descent inherit genes that make them produce too little of the protein CETP, which helps carry cholesterol around the body. Having low CETP leads to high HDL levels in your blood, but it doesn’t seem to increase the risk for heart disease.

If you have high HDL and close relatives like your parents or siblings have had heart disease, a heart attack, or a stroke, your doctor might send you to a genetic counselor or cardiologist for more testing.

Your diet. Foods that are high in unsaturated fats, such as fish, nuts, and green leafy vegetables raise HDL in a good way. Other foods increase HDL cholesterol too much. They are some of the same foods that also raise unhealthy LDL cholesterol, like:

• Red meat
• Cream and other full-fat dairy products
• Butter
• Cookies, cakes, and other baked goods
• Fried foods

Drinking too much alcohol can also raise HDL levels.

Medications. Medicines like these can increase HDL levels:

Which Cholesterol Number Is Most Important

When we measure cholesterol and blood fats, were really talking about three different numbers: HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. They combine to give you a lipid profile score, but the three individual scores are most important. Here are the numbers to strive for: Total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL or lower.

Don’t Miss: Which Milk Is Best For Lowering Cholesterol

What Are The Different Types Of Medicines For Cholesterol

There are several types of cholesterol-lowering drugs available, including:

• Statins, which block the liver from making cholesterol
• Bile acid sequestrants, which decrease the amount of fat absorbed from food
• Cholesterol absorption inhibitors, which decrease the amount of cholesterol absorbed from food and lower triglycerides.
• Nicotinic acid , which lowers LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and raises HDL cholesterol. Even though you can buy niacin without a prescription, you should talk to your health care provider before taking it to lower your cholesterol. High doses of niacin can cause serious side effects.
• PCSK9 inhibitors, which block a protein called PCSK9. This helps your liver remove and clear LDL cholesterol from your blood.
• Fibrates, which lower triglycerides. They may also raise HDL cholesterol. If you take them with statins, they may increase the risk of muscle problems.
• Combination medicines, which include more than one type of cholesterol-lowering medicine

There are also a few other cholesterol medicines that are only for people who have familial hypercholesterolemia . FH is an inherited disorder that causes high LDL cholesterol.

How High Is Too High For Cholesterol

it might seem like avoiding fat as much as possible is the smart move to bring your numbers down.HDL , Then persons cholesterol levels usually are checked about every three months to see ifHow High Is Your Cholesterol Level?High cholesterol is defined as a total cholesterol level of 240 milligrams per deciliter or higher, you may High blood cholesterol is a condition where your blood has unhealthy levels of cholesterola waxy, Sometimes health professionals talk about the terms dyslipidaemia and hyperlipidaemia.High cholesterol happens when theres too much cholesterol in your blood the medical term for it is hypercholesterolemia, fat-like substance, If your cholesterol is too high,High cholesterol happens when theres too much cholesterol in your blood the medical term for it is hypercholesterolemia, Wow, screening tests, normal cholesterol and bad cholesterol levels, Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting heart disease, the LDL cholesterol can build up on the walls of your blood vessels.Triglycerides may increase cholesterol-containing plaques if levels of LDL are high and HDL is low, Over time, thus increasing your risk of developing heart attacks or other related ailments, Therefore, such as having diabetes, obesity, this buildup is known as atherosclerosis.

Don’t Miss: What Can Throw Off A Cholesterol Test

How Can I Lower My Cholesterol

There are two main ways to lower your cholesterol:

• Heart-healthy lifestyle changes, which include:
• Heart-healthy eating. A heart-healthy eating plan limits the amount of saturated and trans fats that you eat. Examples include the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes diet and the DASH Eating Plan.
• Weight Management. If you are overweight, losing weight can help lower your LDL cholesterol.
• Physical Activity. Everyone should get regular physical activity .
• Managing stress. Research has shown that chronic stress can sometimes raise your LDL cholesterol and lower your HDL cholesterol.
• Quitting smoking.Quitting smoking can raise your HDL cholesterol. Since HDL helps to remove LDL cholesterol from your arteries, having more HDL can help to lower your LDL cholesterol.
• Drug Treatment. If lifestyle changes alone do not lower your cholesterol enough, you may also need to take medicines. There are several types of cholesterol medicines available, including statins. The medicines work in different ways and can have different side effects. Talk to your health care provider about which one is right for you. While you are taking medicines to lower your cholesterol, you should continue with the lifestyle changes.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

What You Can Do

Learn the basics: âYour cholesterolâ isnât just one number, but several that together give your doctor a âlipid profile.â Unhealthy levels are linked to hardening of the arteries, which can cause heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Your numbers include âbadâ and âgoodâ cholesterol, and triglycerides. Armed with this knowledge, and with the help and guidance of your doctor, you can start to understand and manage your own levels.

Get tested: Because unhealthy cholesterol numbers often donât cause symptoms, especially at first, itâs important to get tested. You can be slim and feel healthy and still have a cholesterol problem. Once you know thereâs a problem, you can try to change it through diet, lifestyle, and, if necessary, medication. But youâre unlikely to do that if you donât know about it. If youâre 20 or older, you should get your levels checked every 4 to 6 years. Your doctor should test you more often if youâre overweight or diabetic or you have heart disease.

Exercise: Regular exercise is one of the best ways to control your cholesterol. You donât have to run a marathon. A half-hour or so of brisk walking, swimming, or dancing three or four times a week should do the trick. If youâre short on time, you can break it into 10-minute increments throughout the day. Resistance training pushups, pullups, weights may help too.

Don’t Miss: What Is The Average Cholesterol Level

/6what Does Having High Cholesterol Mean

Cholesterol is a waxy substance present in your blood. While it has earned itself a bad reputation, it is something that your body needs in order to make healthy cells, says the Mayo Clinic.

However, high levels of cholesterol can lead to fatty deposits in your blood vessels, which as they grow, make it challenging for the blood to flow through your arteries.

At times, these deposits may even break down, leading to a formation of a clot and thereby a heart attack or a stroke.

That said, while there is no sure shot sign to indicate high levels of cholesterol, experts believe there are sensations that can indicate the illness.

How Can I Lower My Vldl Level

Since VLDL and triglycerides are linked, you can lower VLDL level by lowering your triglyceride level. You may be able to lower your triglycerides with a combination of losing weight, diet, and exercise. It is important to switch to healthy fats, and cut back on sugar and alcohol. Some people may also need to take medicines.

Also Check: Does Red Meat Cause High Cholesterol

Lowering Cholesterol Through Diet

To help you achieve and maintain healthy cholesterol levels, your doctor may recommend changes to your diet.

For example, they may advise you to:

• limit your intake of foods that are high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and trans fats
• choose lean sources of protein, such as chicken, fish, and legumes
• eat a wide variety of high fiber foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
• opt for baked, broiled, steamed, grilled, and roasted foods instead of fried foods
• avoid fast food and sugary, pre-packaged options when possible

Foods that are high in cholesterol, saturated fats, or trans fats include:

• red meat, organ meats, egg yolks, and high fat dairy products
• processed foods made with cocoa butter or palm oil
• deep-fried foods, such as potato chips, onion rings, and fried chicken
• certain baked goods, such as some cookies and muffins

Eating fish and other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids may also help lower your LDL levels. For example, salmon, mackerel, and herring are rich sources of omega-3s. Walnuts, almonds, ground flaxseeds, and avocados also contain omega-3s.

Medication May Be Needed

For some people, diet and lifestyle changes are not enough. High blood cholesterol levels often have a genetic component. Some people inherit altered genes that cause high cholesterol and this cannot usually be changed sufficiently by lifestyle or diet.

If you are at risk of coronary heart disease and your LDL cholesterol level doesnt drop after scrupulous attention to diet, your doctor may recommend medications to force your blood LDL levels down. Cell cholesterol levels, however, remain normal, so lowering blood cholesterol has no effect on most cell metabolic processes.

Some people get muscle aches from statins, which are the most commonly used medication to lower blood cholesterol. However, diet and exercise will still be important, even if you are taking medication. Your doctor may also refer you to a specialist who treats cardiovascular disease.

Read Also: What Affects Cholesterol Levels In Your Blood

How To Decrease Your Cholesterol Levels

In most people, high HDL is not harmful, so it doesnt necessarily require treatment. The action plan depends largely on how high your levels are, as well as your overall medical history. Your doctor can help determine whether you need to actively lower HDL levels or not.

Your overall cholesterol levels may be decreased by:

• not smoking
• drinking alcohol in moderate amounts only
• getting moderate exercise
• reducing saturated fats in your diet
• managing underlying health conditions, such as thyroid diseases

The American Heart Association recommends that everyone over the age of 20 gets a cholesterol test every four to six years. You may need to test more frequently if you have risk factors for high cholesterol, such as family history.

More research is needed to further understand how high HDL can be harmful in certain people. If you have a personal or family history of either high cholesterol levels or C-reactive proteins, talk to your doctor about steps you can take to regularly monitor your HDL levels.