High cholesterol can cause strokes and heart attacks due to plaque build up in your arteries. It can cause other problems.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that your liver produces. It’s vital for the formation of cell membranes, vitamin D, and certain hormones. Cholesterol doesn’t dissolve in water, so it can’t travel through your body by itself.

lipoproteins help transport cholesterol through the bloodstream There are two major forms of lipoproteins.

Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), also known as “bad cholesterol,” can build up in the arteries and lead to serious health problems, such as heart attack or stroke.

Eating too many foods that contain high amounts of fat increases the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood. This is known as high cholesterol, also called hypercholesterolemia or hyperlipidemia.

High-density lipoproteins (HDLs), sometimes called “good cholesterol,” help return the LDL cholesterol to the liver for elimination.

If your levels of LDL cholesterol are too high, or levels of HDL cholesterol are too low, fatty deposits build up in your blood vessels. These deposits will make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. This could cause problems throughout your body, particularly in your heart and brain, or it could be fatal.

High cholesterol typically doesn’t cause any symptoms. In most cases, it only causes emergency events. For instance, a heart attack or stroke can result from the damage caused by high cholesterol.

These events are usually not occur until high cholesterol leads to plaque in your arteries. Blood can be less passed through arteries if there is plaque. The makeup of your arteries is changed by plaque. This could lead to serious problems.

A blood test is the only way to know if your cholesterol is too high. This means having a total blood cholesterol level above 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). Ask a doctor to give you a cholesterol test after you turn 20. Then get your cholesterol rechecked every 4 to 6 years.

If you have a family history of high cholesterol, your doctor may suggest you have your cholesterol checked more frequently. They might suggest it if you show the following risk factors.

  • Have high blood pressure.
  • Are they overweight?
  • There is smoke.

Genetic conditions that cause high cholesterol

There’s a condition passed through genes that causes high cholesterol called familial hypercholesterolemia. People with this condition have cholesterol levels of 300 mg/dL or higher. They may develop xanthoma, which can appear as a yellow patch above your skin, or a lump underneath your skin.

Coronary artery (heart) disease (CAD)

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a type of heart disease. It occurs when plaque buildup causes the main arteries that supply your heart with blood to be narrowed or hardened.

Symptoms of heart disease may be different for men and women. However, heart disease remains the number one killer of both sexes in the United States. The most common symptoms include:

Stroke

The buildup of plaque caused by high cholesterol can put you at serious risk of having the blood supply to an important part of your brain reduced or cut off. This is what happens when a stroke occurs.

A stroke is a medical emergency. It’s important to act fast and get medical treatment if you or anyone you know experiences the symptoms of a stroke. These symptoms include:

Heart attack

The arteries that supply the heart with blood can slowly narrow due to the buildup of plaque. This process, called atherosclerosis, happens slowly over time and has no symptoms. Eventually, a piece of the plaque can break off. When this happens, a blood clot forms around the plaque. It can block blood flow to the heart muscle and deprive it of oxygen and nutrients.

This is deprivation. A heart attack is when the heart is damaged or dies due to lack of oxygen. Myocardia is a medical term for a heart attack.

According to the American Heart Association, someone in the United States has a heart attack roughly every 39 seconds.

There are some symptoms of a heart attack.

  • “It’s tight in your chest or arms.”
  • Difficult breathing
  • A feeling of impending doom is what it is.
  • dizziness
  • Experiencing nausea, indigestion, or heartburn.
  • excessive fatigue.

“A heart attack is a medical emergency. If treatment doesn’t start in the first few hours after a heart attack, it could be fatal.”

If you or someone you know experiences a heart attack, it is important to act fast and get medical treatment.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD)

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) can occur when plaque builds up in the walls of the arteries. This will block the flow of blood in the arteries that supply blood to your kidneys, arms, stomach, legs, and feet.

Symptoms of early PAD may include:

  • It is a symptom of cramping.
  • Achiness.
  • fatigue
  • Intermittent pain in your legs is called intermittent claudication.
  • It is uncomfortable in your legs and feet.

Symptoms occur more frequently when you are at rest. There are symptoms that may occur because of reduced blood flow.

  • Thin, pale, or shininess on the skin of your legs and feet.
  • tissue death caused by lack of blood supply, called gangrene
  • ulcers on your legs and feet that don’t heal or heal very slowly
  • “leg pain that doesn’t go away when you rest”
  • burning in your feet.
  • leg pain.
  • thick toenails
  • Toes that are blue.
  • Your legs have less hair growth.
  • The temperature of your lower leg or foot can be lower than the other leg.

People with PAD have a higher risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or limb amputations.

A blood test called a lipid panel can be used to diagnose high cholesterol. A doctor will take a sample of blood and send it to a lab for analysis. The doctor will ask you to not eat or drink for at least 12 hours before the test.

A lipid panel measures your total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says these are the desirable levels:

  • The cholesterol is less than 100.
  • 40 or higher is the level of the high cholesterol.
  • The triglyceride is less than 150.

If your total cholesterol is between 200 and 239 s/dL, it is considered borderline high. It is considered high if it is over 200 s/dL.

If your cholesterol is between 130 and 159, it is considered borderline high. If it is above 160 s/dL, it is considered high.

Your HDL cholesterol is generally considered “poor” if it’s below 40 mg/dL.

The American Heart Association recommends having your cholesterol levels checked every 4 to 6 years if you’re a healthy adult over the age of 20. You may need to have your cholesterol checked more often if you’re at an increased risk of high cholesterol.

If you have a family history of heart attacks or cholesterol problems at a young age, you may need more frequent cholesterol checks.

Because high cholesterol doesn’t cause symptoms in the early stages, it’s important to make good lifestyle choices. Eat a healthy diet, maintain an exercise routine, and regularly monitor your cholesterol levels by getting them checked at the doctor’s office.