High Cholesterol Doubles Your Rate Of Heart Disease And Stroke But Did You Know That High Blood Calcium Is Far More Dangerous Than High Cholesterol Hyperparathyroidism Caries Many Significant Health Risks
High blood calcium levels are almost never normal and increases the chances of developing a number of other health problems and even early death if ignored. For adults over 35 years of age, this means we should not have blood calcium higher than 10.0 mg/dl . High blood calcium due to hyperparathyroidism occurs in 1% of women over 50, and one in 200 men, yet a lot of doctors aren’t paying attention to this problem. High blood cholesterol, on the other hand, is much more common . We have all known for many years that we need to keep our cholesterol into the normal range, and for many of us that means taking a “statin” type of drug. Why does everybody know about the risks of high cholesterol while the risks of high calcium are often ignored even though high calcium is considerably more dangerous? Could it be that the big drug companies have educated us about high cholesterol, but since there is no drug for high calcium nobody has bothered to teach us? Well, let’s learn this today, and then let’s print the references at the bottom of this parathyroid blog and teach our doctors!
Misconception: You Should Wait For Your Doctor To Mention Cholesterol
You need to take charge of your health. Starting at age 20, ask your doctor to test your cholesterol, assess your factors and estimate your risk for a heart attack or stroke.
If youre between 20 and 39, your doctor can assess your lifetime risk. If youre between 40 and 75, they will assess your 10-year risk.
Once you know your risk, you can take action to lower it. Your doctor may recommend diet and lifestyle changes and possibly medication. Follow all of your doctors instructions and have your cholesterol and other risk factors checked every four to six years as long as your risk remains low.
Misconception: Only Men Need To Worry About Cholesterol
Both men and women tend to see higher triglyceride and cholesterol levels as they get older. Although atherosclerosis typically occurs later in women than men, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in women. Weight gain also contributes to higher levels.
Premenopausal women may have some protection from high LDL levels of cholesterol, compared to men. Thats because the female hormone estrogen is highest during the childbearing years and it tends to raise HDL cholesterol levels. This may help explain why premenopausal women are usually protected from developing heart disease.
But cholesterol levels can still rise in postmenopausal women, despite a heart-healthy diet and regular physical activity. So women nearing menopause should have their cholesterol levels checked and talk with their doctor about their risk factors and treatment options.
At one time, it was thought that hormone replacement therapy might lower a womans risk of heart disease and stroke. But studies have shown that HRT doesn’t reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in postmenopausal women. The American Heart Association doesn’t endorse HRT as a means to lower cardiovascular risks.
Doctors should consider women-specific conditions, such as premature menopause and pregnancy-associated conditions, when discussing their cholesterol levels and potential treatment options.
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Myth: Two To Three Hours Of Vigorous Exercise Per Week Will Ensure Heart Health
Tolower your risk of death from coronary artery disease and cancer, youll needfive or six sessions of moderate to vigorous activity per week.
You dont have to be a diehard exerciser or even a weekend warrior to benefit from increased activity, says Dr. Gillinov. But you do have to get off the sofa and move. Your heart will benefit from any activity you do, and the more you do, the more you will benefit.
Takethe stairs instead of the elevator, vacuum your house or rake the leaves. Aimfor 30 minutes of activity a day divided into 10- to 15-minute sessions andyour heart will thank you.
High Blood Pressure Threatens Your Health And Quality Of Life
In most cases, the damage done by high blood pressure takes place over time. Left undetected , high blood pressure can lead to:
- Heart attack High blood pressure damages arteries that can become blocked and prevent blood flow to the heart muscle.
- Stroke High blood pressure can cause blood vessels in the brain to clog more easily or even burst.
- Heart failure The increased workload from high blood pressure can cause the heart to enlarge and fail to supply blood to the body.
- Kidney disease or failure High blood pressure can damage the arteries around the kidneys and interfere with their ability to filter blood effectively.
- Vision loss High blood pressure can strain or damage blood vessels in the eyes.
- Sexual dysfunction High blood pressure can lead to erectile dysfunction in men or lower libido in women.
- Angina Over time, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease or microvascular disease . Angina, or chest pain, is a common symptom.
- Peripheral artery disease Atherosclerosis caused by high blood pressure can cause a narrowing of arteries in the legs, arms, stomach and head, causing pain or fatigue.
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Living With Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a lifelong condition that will require changes in your lifestyle. If you already have heart disease or diabetes, follow your healthcare providers recommendations for managing these conditions.
Lifestyle changes involved in managing metabolic syndrome include:
- A healthy diet
- Stopping smoking if youre a smoker or use other tobacco products
- Losing weight if you are overweight or obese
Managing High Cholesterol And High Blood Pressure
Lifestyle changes are often the first step to improving both conditions.
Eat a healthy diet. Choose plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, fish, and other lean proteins, nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils. Good plans to follow are the DASH diet, designed to lower blood pressure, and the Mediterranean diet.
Keep saturated fat to less than 6% of your daily calories. Blood cholesterol is more a reflection of how much saturated fat you eat than the cholesterol in foods, but these diets naturally limit dietary cholesterol, too.
Key foods to avoid or at least limit are red meats, processed meats and other high-salt foods, and sugary foods and drinks. A plant-based diet often brings the best results.
Be more active. If you can get in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio activity each week, you can help lower both cholesterol and high blood pressure. And that doesn’t have to mean pounding it out on a treadmill. Throw a Frisbee with your kids in the backyard, and take brisk walks in a nearby state park.
Lose excess weight. Obesity is linked to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and more. It can increase LDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol . It can also raise blood pressure. A weight loss of as little as 5% to 10% of your excess body weight can help improve cholesterol numbers and blood pressure.
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Can Hypertension Cause Other Problems
When your blood pressure is too high for too long, it damages your blood vessels and LDL cholesterol begins to accumulate along tears in your artery walls. This increases the workload of your circulatory system while decreasing its efficiency.
As a result, high blood pressure puts you at greater risk for developing life-changing and potentially life-threating conditions.
Misconception: Using Margarine Instead Of Butter Will Help Lower Cholesterol
Butter is high in saturated fat and has some trans fat raising LDL cholesterol and contributing to atherosclerosis. But many hard margarines also have a high amount of saturated and trans fat.
The healthiest choice is a liquid or soft tub margarine. These are made with vegetable oils. They have less partially hydrogenated fat and saturated fat than solid spreads such as hard stick margarine and butter. Look for margarines that say 0 g trans fat on the Nutrition Facts label.
Switching from butter to soft margarine is a good step. But by itself, it probably wont reduce your cholesterol to healthy levels.
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Who Is At Risk For Metabolic Syndrome
Knowing your risk factors for any disease can help guide you to take the appropriate actions. This includes changing behaviors and being monitored by your healthcare provider for the disease.
Risk factors most closely tied to metabolic syndrome include:
- Age. You are more likely to have metabolic syndrome the older you are.
- Ethnicity. African Americans and Mexican Americans are more likely to get metabolic syndrome. African-American women are about 60% more likely than African-American men to have the syndrome.
- Body mass index greater than 25. The BMI is a measure of body fat compared with height and weight.
- Personal or family history of diabetes. Women who have had diabetes during pregnancy or people who have a family member with type 2 diabetes are at greater risk for metabolic syndrome.
- Smoking
Here are the types of treatment that may be recommended for metabolic syndrome.
High Blood Pressure And Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of risk factors, including high blood pressure, that raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other health problems. It is diagnosed when any three of these risk factors are present:
- High blood glucose
- Low levels of HDL cholesterol in the blood
- High levels of triglycerides in the blood
- Large waist circumference or apple-shaped body
- High blood pressure
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Misconception: If The Nutrition Facts Label Shows No Cholesterol The Food Is Heart Healthy
A foods Nutrition Facts label can be helpful for choosing heart-healthy foods, if you know what to look for.
Many foods marketed as low-cholesterol have high levels of saturated or trans fats, both of which raise blood cholesterol.
Look for how much saturated fat, trans fat and total calories are in a serving. Ingredients are listed in descending order of use, so choose products where fats and oils are near the end of the ingredients list.
What Do The Numbers Mean
To understand blood pressure reading, it is important to understand what blood pressure is. As you already know, the heart pumps blood through the chambers of the heart, then it goes to the vessels to transport the blood throughout the body with the circulatory system.
Your blood pressure measures the pumping action of the heart. The top number reading is known as the systolic blood pressure, it is the force exerted on the walls of the arteries when the heart contracts to pump oxygenated blood. The bottom reading is diastolic blood pressure. It is the pressure reading when the heart is resting in between beats.
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What Happens If You Have High Cholesterol
What does high cholesterol mean?
High cholesterol means there is too much cholesterol in your blood. This can clog up your arteries the large blood vessels that carry blood around your body. Over time, this can lead to serious problems.
How does cholesterol clog up your arteries?
Excess cholesterol can be laid down in the walls of your arteries. Fatty areas known as plaques can form, and these become harder with time, making the arteries stiffer and narrower. This process is called atherosclerosis.
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Narrowed arteries
When the arteries become narrower, its harder for blood to flow through them. This puts a strain on your heart because it has to work harder to pump blood around your body. Eventually, the heart can become weak and cant work as well as it should.
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Blood clots
Blood clots can form over the fatty, hardened parts of the arteries. The blood clots can block the artery completely, cutting off the blood flow. Bits of the blood clots can break away and become lodged in an artery or vein in another part of the body, which can cause a heart attack or stroke.
What Causes Metabolic Syndrome
Experts don’t fully understand what causes metabolic syndrome. Several factors are interconnected. Obesity plus a sedentary lifestyle contributes to risk factors for metabolic syndrome. These include high cholesterol, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure. These risk factors may lead to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Because metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance are closely tied, many healthcare providers believe that insulin resistance may be a cause of metabolic syndrome. But they have not found a direct link between the two conditions. Others believe that hormone changes caused by chronic stress lead to abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, and higher blood lipids .
Other factors that may contribute to metabolic syndrome include genetic changes in a person’s ability to break down fats in the blood, older age, and problems in how body fat is distributed.
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The Relationship Between High Cholesterol And High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure and high cholesterol both damage the inner lining of blood vessels, known as the endothelium.
Over time, endothelial damage contributes to the buildup of cholesterol plaques and inflammatory cells in the blood vessels throughout the body, known as atherosclerosis.
Endothelial damage also results in improper regulation of blood vessel dilation. The result is stiffened, narrowed arteries that do not respond the way they should.
How Is High Blood Pressure Diagnosed
High blood pressure is diagnosed with a blood pressure monitor. This is a common test for all doctor visits. A nurse will place a band around your arm. The band is attached to a small pump and a meter. He or she will squeeze the pump. It will feel tight around your arm. Then he or she will stop and watch the meter. This provides the nurse with 2 numbers that make up your blood pressure. The top number is your systolic reading . The bottom number is your diastolic reading . You may also hear the doctor or nurse say a blood pressure is 120 over 80.
- Normal blood pressure is less than 120 on top and less than 80 on the bottom.
- Prehypertension levels are 120-139 on top and 80-89 on the bottom.
- High blood pressure, stage 1 is 140-159 on top and 90-99 on the bottom.
- High blood pressure, stage 2 is 160 or higher on top and 100 and over on the bottom.
The higher your blood pressure is, the more often you need to have it checked. After age 18, have your blood pressure checked at least once every two years. Do it more often if you have had high blood pressure in the past.
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Why Should I Lower My Cholesterol
Evidence strongly indicates that high cholesterol can increase the risk of:
- narrowing of the arteries
- transient ischaemic attack often known as a “mini stroke”
- peripheral arterial disease
This is because cholesterol can build up in the artery wall, restricting the blood flow to your heart, brain and the rest of your body. It also increases the risk of a blood clot developing somewhere in your body.
Your risk of developing coronary heart disease also rises as your blood’s cholesterol level increases. This can cause pain in your chest or arm during stress or physical activity .
The Hose Analogy For Understanding Blood Pressure
To help you understand how this works, think about how water pressure works in a hose. The pressure of the water that comes out of the hose is affected by both the speed of the water and the size of the hose’s opening, just like your blood pressure is affected by how fast your heart pumps and how wide your arteries are.
For example, when you turn up the spigot on the hose to increase the flow of water, this causes the pressure of the water coming out of the hose to go up. This is similar to how your blood pressure goes up when your heart pumps faster.
Now think about what happens if the inside of the hose got clogged up with grime, or if you put your finger on the end of the hose to block part of the opening. This would also increase the water pressure, because the same amount of water is being forced through a narrower opening. This is just like how your blood pressure increases when when your arteries get narrowed, whether it happens through constriction or atherosclerosis.
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Your Best Protection Is Knowledge Management And Prevention
- Know your numbers The best way to know if you have high blood pressure is tohave your blood pressure checked.
- Understand the symptoms and risks Learn what factors could make you more likely to develop high blood pressure and put you at risk for serious medical problems.
- Make changes that matter Take steps to reduce your risk and manage your blood pressure. Make heart-healthy lifestyle changes, take any medication as prescribed and work in partnership with your doctor.
Managing Blood Pressure And Cholesterol Levels
Certain lifestyle changes can have a big impact on lowering both blood pressure and cholesterol. In many cases, however, lifestyle changes are not enough to bring numbers down, and medications are needed.
Living an active lifestyle can help keep blood pressure and cholesterol numbers in control. The American Heart Association recommends getting at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise, like walking, biking, or swimming, on a weekly basis.
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