As early as your teenage years, fat cells can begin to accumulate in your blood vessel walls. Over time, the fat builds up, putting a strain on the walls, and triggers the release of chemicals that make the walls sticky as the body attempts to repair itself. In the process, other things stick to your blood vessel walls; things such as protein, calcium, inflammatory cells, which fuses with the fat to create a hardened plaque. Blood clots form when the hard surface of the plaque rips or tears and platelets arrive in the area. Sometimes, new blood vessels form to circumvent the blood around the trouble spot, but sometimes the clot blocks off the whole area or the new vessels don’t work quickly enough during times of exertion. This is the making of coronary heart disease, a serious medical condition that will kill 13 million Americans this year.
Most people with coronary heart disease don’t realize they have it until it’s too late, even though basic medical tests can reveal telltale signs like elevated triglycerides and high cholesterol levels. Some people may experience “angina pectoris,” which is the medical term for discomfort, heaviness, aching, burning, numbness or pain in the chest, left shoulder, arms, back or jaw. Often this pain will feel similar to indigestion but won’t occur around meal times. Depending on what kind of angina you’re suffering from, the pain may come after exertion (stable angina), when sleeping and while out in the cold (prinzmetal’s angina) or sometimes even just suddenly while resting (unstable angina). Shortness of breath, heart palpitations, dizziness, nausea and sweating often accompany the angina symptoms.
To test for signs of coronary heart disease, your doctor will do the usual inflatable arm cuff blood pressure test, a urinalysis and in some cases may perform a stress test where you walk on a treadmill or take an electrocardiogram photo of your heart to check for abnormalities. Once you’ve been assessed, the first line of defense for most patients will be making several lifestyle and diet modifications to reduce the risk factors. You’ll be asked to check back in within a few months.
While some people are born genetically susceptible to coronary heart disease, the overwhelming majority of us become victimized by our imbalanced eating habits, our 50 hour work weeks, our poor sleep quality, our lack of exercise, our smoking, our drinking and our stress. There comes a point where we need to realize that work could be the end-all of existence if we don’t better organize our priorities. On a positive note, more and more Americans are looking for healthier ways of living, judging by the number of self-help books flying off the shelves. There may not be an easy answer for lowering cholesterol or bypassing atherosclerosis, but with a positive attitude and a little bit of hard work, we can live a long, healthy life.
As we start to get older there are significant numbers that start to weigh to a great extent upon us. We have to worry about our blood pressure, weight and our cholesterol level. Things we may have ignored our entire lives now suddenly have great importance. However these are things that should not have been ignored. A lifetime of mistreatment on the body gives merely unfavourable things when left unchecked.
Your cholesterol level is without question pivotal if you want to remain healthy and your body working in good order. High levels has the ability to lead lead to heart attacks and stroke, both of these things you do not want to have to deal with. Being concerned about your cholesterol level is not simply for the elderly. It is something both young and old must worry as well as be mindful of if they hope to to conduct a healthy lifestyle. In this article we will cover the basics of cholesterol and hopefully you will realize just how all-important a healthy level is to your body as well as peace of mind.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a lipid that is found in the bloodstream of humans and all animals. It can be there from two different sources. The first source is your body itself. The body naturally produces cholesterol. The second source of cholesterol is the food that we eat. It may surprise you to know that not all cholesterol is bad for you. There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. But you have to know the difference if you want to protect your health and your heart.
What happens when cholesterol gets too high?
Well when LDL gets too high then the cholesterol begins to accumulate on the artery walls and then hardens into plaque. The build up continues until the entire artery is blocked off. This added blockage makes it hard for blood to get to the heart where it can be pumped to the rest of the body. It can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
When HDL levels are high this is a good thing because researchers believe that HDL helps rid the body of cholesterol build-up. That is why a diet rich in foods that promote HDL is always heavily recommended.
How is the obstruction from the arteries removed?
The first stage is through medicines but if there is a life-threatening tapering or blockage in the artery or blood vessel then a slightly more intrusive procedure is needed. The actual functions may change but one frequent method is through a balloon angioplasty. The mechanical device is inserted into the artery and navigated to the where the blockage is located where the plaque build up has happened. The balloon is then inflated to clear the passage. Nowadays the operation is minimally intrusive and the majority of patients are able to going home that day.
How do I know what my cholesterol is?
Well in order to know what your cholesterol is you should have a blood cholesterol testing performed at least every five years. The most recommended test is a fasting lipoprotein blood profile. This test measures not only your total cholesterol but it also specifies the LDL and the HDL levels. It is a great idea to be knowledgeable about where your numbers are and to ensure that they are in the proper healthy range.
To find out additional information head on over to Total Cholesterol Levels with more helpful material at Foods Low In Cholesterol and Total Cholesterol Levels