High Cholesterol Levels and 3 Diseases Linked to Them

When it comes to health and vitals, high-anything isn’t great, especially cholesterol.

But what exactly is cholesterol?

Well, it’s essentially just a waxy substance that your body already has in every cell. And though it doesn’t have a great reputation, it isn’t quite the villain people make it out to be. In fact, your body does need it in controlled quantities to make hormones, and digest foods.

But here’s the thing: your body produces the amount it needs. Any extra buildup is not only unnecessary but also harmful as it can accumulate in the blood vessels and restrict blood flow, resulting in some life-threatening conditions.

Here are a few diseases linked to unhealthy levels of cholesterol.

Heart Disease

This is self-explanatory. Your heart is responsible for pumping out the blood to the rest of your body. Naturally, an obstruction in the blood vessels caused by high levels of cholesterols is going to make its job tougher.

As a result, your heart is going to have to work twice as hard, making it weaker and possibly causing a range of heart diseases including coronary artery disease, angina pains, blood clots, as other blockages that result in heart attacks.

Type 2 Diabetes  

Interestingly, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes have a different relationship than the other diseases high cholesterol is linked to. That is to say, that it’s actually this type of diabetes that can cause a rise in the cholesterol and fat levels in the blood.

People with diabetes (type 2) have higher levels of low-density lipoprotein, which is a bad sort of cholesterol. And at the same time, it depletes levels of high-density lipoprotein, which is a good type of cholesterol, thus making this an unhealthy combination for your body.

Obesity

Being fat is not the same as being obese, although the two terms are used almost interchangeably. Obesity is a disease, i.e., a medical condition that can cause serious health complications. People with a BMI of higher than 30 are usually diagnosed with obesity.

Like type 2 diabetes, obesity also leads to higher, unhealthy levels of bad cholesterol, which then raises the risks for other, more dangerous health concerns like heart diseases and high blood pressure.

 

Maintaining healthy levels of cholesterol can essentially lead you toward a healthier and longer life. Given that our lifestyles today are mostly just hamburgers and 9 to 5 desk jobs, it’s crucial to keep our cholesterol levels in check with frequent visits to the doctor’s office.

But if you find it hard to make time for these essential appointments, make sure you’re getting online medical consultations regularly.

We can help you with that; get in touch with us to book an appointment today!