High Cholesterol: Risks and Treatment

Cholesterol is a substance found in human blood and helps the body in building healthy cells. When the cholesterol in your blood increases, it starts to create problems.

High cholesterol can be a result of some medical conditions, like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, an unhealthy diet, etc.

High cholesterol often goes unnoticed because it doesn’t have any noticeable symptoms, but it keeps depositing fat in your blood vessels. With time, these deposits increase and start hindering blood flow.

Risks of High Cholesterol

Stroke

When considerable fat accumulates inside an artery, there is a risk of some of that fat breaking away and forming a clot. A clot near the brain prevents the blood from reaching the brain, which is an emergency medical condition. Due to this, the brain doesn’t receive oxygen, and brain cells start to die.

Stroke patients need to be treated urgently to avoid any brain damage. Delay in treatments can lead to permanent brain damage and death.

Heart Attack

As mentioned above, if a clot forms near the heart, the flow of blood is blocked and the heart fails to receive blood. Subsequently, the heart stops working and the person suffers a heart attack.

A heart attack is an emergency, and there is very little time to save a person and minimize heart damage.

Angina Pain

Angina pain is chest pain a person experiences when not enough blood is reaching the heart. This is due to the fat deposits hindering the flow of blood in the arteries. Angina pain is usually a result of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD).

Treatment for High Cholesterol

Until high cholesterol hasn’t caused a major health problem, it can be brought under control with lifestyle changes.

Healthy Diet

Maintaining a healthy diet that limits oily and fatty foods is recommended to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Reduce Weight

If you’re overweight, it's important for you to reduce weight to an optimum level so that the risk of increased cholesterol level is minimized.

Stay Active

Staying active is very important for keeping cholesterol levels down. If you can, workout or jog daily for at least 30 minutes. If you can’t, take a stroll and walk for 40-45 minutes daily.

Medication

If your cholesterol levels don’t go down with healthy lifestyle changes, doctors prescribe certain medications that will help. Some of the commonly used medicines for high cholesterol levels are lovastatin (Altoprev), Ezetimibe (Zetia), Cholestyramine (Prevalite), etc.

If you want a consultation with a doctor regarding high cholesterol risks, you can consult one online now. TelMDCare offers an online healthcare service with licensed online doctors. We offer consultation for multiple health problems, including high cholesterol. Our doctor will diagnose you or guide you what further steps need to be taken.

Contact us now or book an appointment.