Home | List of Articles | Submit an Article | Contact Us

Understanding Cholesterol Levels and Decrease the Risk of Heart Attacks and Strokes

Fact:

• heart disease claims about ½ million lives in America per year
• high cholesterol levels play a significant role in heart disease
• studies show if you lower cholesterol levels, the risk of heart disease is reduced by up-to 40%

What is Cholesterol?

Before we go into how to reduce your cholesterol, let’s take a look at what exactly cholesterol is.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is produced by the liver and its job is to:-

• produce bile acids to help with the digestion of fat
• build and repair cells and
• produce estrogens and testosterone hormones

Therefore cholesterol is an important function of the body, but too much cholesterol in the body becomes a risk as it can clog up arteries and this can be the cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Cholesterol Symptoms

It is surprising to learn that there are virtually no symptoms to diagnose if you have high cholesterol. High cholesterol is normally identified by a blood test.

However, if you are having health issues such as coronary disease, vascular disease or stroke, then this could be the end result of high cholesterol levels in your body.

Symptoms of:

Coronary Disease
• Angina
• Chest pains
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath

Vascular Disease
• A tightening sensation in the lower extremities
• Ulcers or open sores on the lower extremities

Stroke
• loss of balance and dizziness
• slurring of speech and difficulty in understanding
• numbing sensation of the face, arm or leg
• this can be a sudden event with little or no warning

People who are overweight and do no exercise at all tend to be the ones with higher cholesterol levels.

Therefore, it is recommended that you have a cholesterol blood test every three years if you are overweight and every 5 years if you are a normal healthy weight.

How to Lower Cholesterol

If your blood test shows that your cholesterol levels are too high, then you should take immediate measures to help lower your cholesterol. Your doctor will advise you on the best course of action, but initially it is the norm for you to follow a low cholesterol diet.

A low cholesterol diet is normally a diet which is low in saturated fat and will include eating:-

• skinless poultry
• lean meats
• fish and shellfish
• low fat dairy products
• fruit
• vegetables
• whole grain foods

Cook your food by either

• grilling
• baking
• steaming
• boiling
• poaching
• microwave

Do not fry your food in lard or oil.

Your doctor also might prescribe you with a cholesterol lowering medication if he/she feels that the low cholesterol diet will not be enough.

About the Author

Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of http://www.lower-your-cholesterol.info website where you can find further information and resources on lowering your cholesterol.

Related Articles:

Heart Attack Warning Signs - (NC)-Heart disease is a leading cause of death for Canadian men and women.1 Chest pain (a classic symptom of angina or heart attack) occurs when not enough blood is reaching the heart muscles due to the narrowing of the heart's coronary arteries or complete blockage of these arteries. Learn the signs of a heart attack and the steps to take if you o ...

Lowering Your Risk Of Heart Disease - (NC)-If you have been deemed at risk by your doctor, there are steps you can take to help control risk factors. According to Statistics Canada, heart disease is one of the leading causes of death of Canadians, accounting for over 26% of all deaths.1 Despite this, there are a variety of ways Canadians can lower their risk of heart disease and ult ...

Primary Pulmonary Hypertension - What is primary pulmonary hypertension? The best place to start is the pulmonary arteries. These arteries move the blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs for oxygen.. When people have high blood pressure specifically in the pulmonary arteries, they have pulmonary hypertension. This could be an extremely rare side-effect of Pondimi ...

Garlic Compound Allicin Prevents Chronic Pulmonary Hypertension - A study suggested that eating two cloves of raw garlic a day could protect against a severe form of pulmonary hypertension. The study was performed on rats. A small dose of monocrotalline was used on rats to induce vasoconstriction of the pulmonary arteries. Within three weeks, the control group of rats developed chronic pulmonary hypertension w ...

Dr. Rai is Certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support - Dr. Rai, a board certified ASPS Texas plastic surgeon received certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in October 2004. Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) is designed fo ...

For a Complete list of Articles with summaries Click Here