If you’re like most people, you know it’s important to keep cholesterol in a healthy range. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which means less than 100 mg / dL of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), more than 60 mg / dL of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and less than 150 mg / dL of triglycerides.
But beyond simply knowing if your cholesterol is too high or not, understanding the role cholesterol plays in promoting and preventing disease can help you stay healthy. Deirdre Mattina, MD, preventive cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic. “When you learn more about cholesterol, it will help you have a more informed conversation with your doctor. This can help your care team identify the risk of heart disease early and develop a treatment plan that will help you live longer with a lot of vitality, ”he says.
So what do you need to know about cholesterol to prevent heart disease, stroke and more? Keep reading.
1. Total cholesterol is only one part of the picture.
When you get your bleeding results back, there are many chances to focus on total cholesterol, reducing that number to zero. Still, Dr. Mattina says that what is more important than total cholesterol is understanding each of the different components that make up that score. “You really have to break down the different types of cholesterol to get a complete picture,” Dr. Mattina says. A typical cholesterol test will measure the following:
- LDL: Cholesterol is considered “bad” because it leads to plaque buildup in the arteries and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. (The more accumulation, the stiffer and narrower the arteries and the more difficult it is for blood to flow freely to the heart). For the general population, less than 100 is ideal and a score above 160 is considered high. However, if you’ve already been diagnosed with heart disease, you’ll want your LDL to be below 70 and possibly even lower, add Randal Thomas, MD, medical director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at the Mayo Clinic.
- HDL: This is considered “good” cholesterol because it does transports LDL cholesterol from the arteries and back to the liver, where it breaks down and moves away from the body. For men, the ideal range is between 40 and 100 HDL; for women, 50 to 100 is ideal, says Dr. Thomas
- Triglycerides: This is a type of fat in the blood that the body uses to get energy. For most people, a triglyceride score above 150 is considered high, says Dr. Thomas, and above 1,000 is dangerously high. Combining high triglycerides with a “good” low HDL cholesterol or a “bad” high LDL cholesterol can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
To get a more accurate picture of how cholesterol may be putting you at risk for heart disease, add these three components of cholesterol and subtract the HDL number. “That the number tells us how many circulating cholesterol particles they put at risk, “says Dr. Mattina. CDC Guidelines, you want this number to be equal to or greater than 250 mg / dL.)
2. Even if you have normal cholesterol levels, you can have a heart attack.
In particular, for women new thought is that not only do cholesterol particles transmit the risk of heart disease, but their behavior, says Dr. Mattina. “A lot of people with a normal cholesterol number have heart attacks, and that’s likely because their cholesterol behaves in an inflammatory way,” he says.
The best way to know if you have inflammatory cholesterol particles in your blood is to ask for a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) test, says Dr. Mattina. “This is not checked on a typical cholesterol panel and is not specific to heart disease, but it will give your doctor a general feeling of inflammation in the body,” which will help guide your treatment plan. CRP is a byproduct of inflammation and inflammation experts I agree that it is as good for predicting heart disease as measuring LDL.)
If the C-reactive protein is high, your doctor may also ask you for one coronary calcium score to better understand the risk of heart disease. This test consists of a scan of the heart with low doses to look for hardened cholesterol in the arteries, says Dr. In the morning. “If you have a high calcium score, it tells us that there is hardened cholesterol in the arteries around the heart,” he says. “That’s when we want to consider cholesterol-lowering medication as a treatment option to prevent a heart attack.”
3. Eating well can improve your cholesterol score, but you may still need it medicines.
There is no doubt that certain unhealthy habits will cause an increase in triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and cause a drop in HDL levels. According to the American Heart Association, eating a diet high in saturated fats and simple carbohydrates, smoking, not exercising enough and being overweight or obese has negative effects on cholesterol and increases the risk of heart disease. On the other hand, improving your diet by choosing healthier fats and increasing fiber intake, getting more exercise and quitting smoking can help a lot in controlling cholesterol.
That said, even if you make all the right decisions in an effort to improve your cholesterol profile, medications may be needed, and it’s important to understand that you may not be able to improve cholesterol just with lifestyle measures. life. In the morning. “This is especially true if you’ve had a heart attack when we need to drastically lower LDL cholesterol,” he says. “However, if you make big changes in your habits, you can affect the total dose or amount of cholesterol medications you need for maintenance.”
4. Preventive cardiologists can help you control your cholesterol and heart health.
Considering that heart disease is the number 1 killer in this country, the majority of our lives, with high cholesterol, says Dr. Mattina, and the longer it keeps cholesterol in the bloodstream, the more likely it is to build up in the blood vessels and cause plaque buildup and increased inflammation. In addition, there is very little data showing that we can reverse the damage caused by high levels of “bad” cholesterol, she says. “For the most part, the best we can do is stabilize cholesterol and prevent it from getting worse,” says Dr. Mattina. “Prevention is key. And the sooner you start, the better. “
If you have a family member who had a heart attack at the age of 30 or 40, your doctor may suggest that you visit a cardiologist when you are 20, Dr. Mattina says. “I also like to see women of childbearing age, regardless of their family history, because we see an increased risk of heart disease when women experience things like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia during pregnancy.” Chronic conditions that cause chronic inflammation, such as autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, can also pose a higher risk of heart disease, even if cholesterol is not high, adds Dr. Mattina . Ask your doctor what you think is right for you, given your health history.
If you want to be proactive, schedule an appointment with a preventive cardiologist, regardless of your age or your risk factors, says Dr. Mattina. “This type of specialist will be able to assess cholesterol and the overall risk of heart disease and help you develop a long-term health plan,” he says. “When it comes to heart disease, the sooner you identify the risk and treat it if necessary, the better.”
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