What

What is
is cholesterol?
cholesterol?

 Cholesterol
Cholesterol is
is a
a waxy,
waxy, fatlike
fatlike substance
substance
that
that is
is naturally
naturally present
present inin cell
cell walls
walls or
or
membranes
membranes everywhere
everywhere in in the
the body.
body. Your
Your
body
body uses
uses cholesterol
cholesterol toto produce
produce many
many
hormones
hormones,, vitamin
vitamin DD,, and
and the
the bile
bile acids
acids
that
that help
help to
to digest
digest fat. 
fat. 


 If
If you
you have
have too
too much
much cholesterol
cholesterol in
in your
your
bloodstream,
bloodstream, the
the excess
excess may
may be
be
deposited
deposited in
in the
the arteries
arteries of
of the
the heart,
heart,
which
which could
could lead
lead to
to heart
heart disease
disease. . 
What causes
What causes high
high cholesterol?
cholesterol?

 Several
Several drugs
drugs and
and diseases
diseases can
can
cause high
cause high cholesterol
cholesterol !!
!!

 however,
however, for
for many
many people
people,, a
a high-fat
high-fat
diet
diet and
and inherited
inherited metabolic
metabolic factors
factors
seem
seem to
to be
be the
the main
main causes
causes.  . 
 What are
What are the
the symptoms
symptoms of
of high
high
cholesterol?
cholesterol?

 High
 High cholesterol
cholesterol doesn’t
doesn’t have
have any
any
symptoms.
symptoms.
 The
 The only
only way
way to
to know
know if if you
you have
have
high
high cholesterol
cholesterol is
is to
to have
have it it
checked,
checked, which
which can
can bebe done
done with
with aa
simple
simple blood
blood test,
test, called
called aa fasting
fasting
lipoprotein
lipoprotein profile
profile
 How often
How often should
should II have
have my
my cholesterol
cholesterol
checked?
checked?

 Government
 Government and
and physician-
physician-
supported
supported guidelines
guidelines state
state that
that
healthy
healthy adults
adults who
who are
are aged
aged 20
20 years
years
or
or older
older should
should have
have aa fasting
fasting
lipoprotein
lipoprotein profile
profile done
done once
once every
every 5
5
years.
years.  
 How is
How is cholesterol checked?
cholesterol checked ?

 You
You may
may bebe asked
asked toto fast
fast overnight
overnight before
before the
the
test,
test, hence
hence its
its name.
name. A A fasting
fasting lipoprotein
lipoprotein
profile
profile measures
measures ::

 total
total cholesterol
cholesterol,, LDL
LDL ("bad")
("bad") cholesterol,
cholesterol, HDL
HDL
("good")
("good") cholesterol,
cholesterol,


 and
and triglycerides
triglycerides in
in your
your blood. 
blood. 


 AA cholesterol
cholesterol test
test can
can be
be done
done without
without fasting,
fasting,
but
but then
then only
only the
the levels
levels of
of total
total cholesterol
cholesterol and
and
HDL
HDL C C ("good")
("good") can
can be
be used.
used.
Should II only
Should only be
be concerned
concerned with
with my
my total
total
chol- number?
chol- number?

 Just
Just knowing
knowing your
your total
total cholesterol
cholesterol isn’t
isn’t enough. 
enough. 
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is is made
made upup of
of 22 different
different types
types::
 HDL
HDL C C ("good")
("good") cholesterol
cholesterol and and

 LDL
LDL C
C ("bad")
("bad") cholesterol
cholesterol ..

 HDL
HDL CC is
is considered
considered goodgood because
because it it helps
helps keep
keep LDL
LDL C C
("bad")
("bad") from
from building
building up up in
in the
the walls
walls ofof your
your arteries
arteries
and
and causing
causing blockage. 
blockage. 
 You
 You also
also need
need toto know
know your
your level
level of
of triglycerides
triglycerides
because
because high
high triglycerides
triglycerides also
also increase
increase the the risk
risk of
of
heart
heart disease,
disease, especially
especially inin people
people with
with diabetes.
diabetes.   
 What kinds
What kinds of
of problems
problems are
are
caused by
caused by high
high cholesterol?
cholesterol?

 High
High cholesterol causes
cholesterol causes
atherosclerosis
atherosclerosis (hardening
(hardening of
of the
the arteries)
arteries),, which
which can
can
lead
lead to
to


 blocked
blocked coronary
coronary arteries,
arteries, manifested
manifested byby
chest
chest pain
pain (angina)
(angina) or
or aa heart
heart attack
attack.. Other
Other serious
serious
problems,
problems, as
as


 blocked
blocked arteries
arteries to
to the
the brain
brain,, causing
causing threatened
threatened
stroke
stroke (transient
(transient ischemic
ischemic attack)
attack) and
and


 blocked
blocked arteries
arteries in
in the
the legs
legs,, causing
causing pain,
pain, limping,
limping, and
and
possibly
possibly even
even limb
limb loss,
loss, are
are possible
possible
What are
What are the
the uncontrollable
uncontrollable and
andcontrollable
controllable
and risk
and risk factors
factors for
for high
high cholesterol
cholesterol ?!
?!

 The
The risk
risk factors
factors you
you can’t
can’t control
control ::

 your
your age
age (for
(for men,
men, 4545 years
years or
or older;
older; for
for women,
women, 55 55
years
years or
or older)
older)

 your
your family
family history
history of
of early
early heart
heart disease
disease (for
(for men,
men,
father
father or
or brother
brother affected
affected before
before age
age 55
55 years;
years; for
for
women,
women, mother
mother oror sister
sister affected
affected before
before age
age 65
65
years). 
years). 
 The
The risk
risk factors
factors you
you can
can control
control are
are

 lowering
lowering high
high blood
blood cholesterol
cholesterol
which
which is
is high
high total
total cholesterol
cholesterol and
and high
high LDL
LDL C
C
("bad");
("bad"); raising
raising HDL
HDL C C ("good")
("good") cholesterol.
cholesterol.

 quitting
quitting smoking;
smoking;
 controlling
 controlling high
high blood
blood pressure;
pressure;
 controlling
 controlling diabetes;
diabetes;
 losing
 losing weight
weight ifif overweight/obese;
overweight/obese;
 and
 and keeping
keeping physically
physically active. 
active. 

If
If you
you have
have diabetes,
diabetes, your
your risk
risk of
of heart
heart
disease
disease isis high.
high. ToTo reduce
reduce your
your risk,
risk,
you
you will
will need
need toto lower
lower your
your cholesterol
cholesterol under
under
the
the supervision
supervision of of your
your doctor.
doctor.
 What the
What the Numbers
Numbers Mean
Mean
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is
is measured
measured in
in milligrams
milligrams per
per deciliters
deciliters
(mg/dL)
(mg/dL) ofof blood..
blood..


 Desirable
Desirable –
– Less
Less than
than 200
200 mg/dL
mg/dL

 Borderline
Borderline High
High Risk
Risk –
– 200-239
200-239 mg/dL
mg/dL

 High
High Risk
Risk –
– 240
240 mg/dL
mg/dL and
and above
above
However,
However, the
the risk
risk of
of cardiovascular
cardiovascular disease
disease associated
associated with
with
these
these levels
levels of
of chol-
chol- and
and trig-
trig- will
will depend
depend upon
upon the
the
presence
presence or
or absence
absence ofof other
other risk
risk factors,
factors, such
such as
as
the
the presence
presence ofof known
known

cardiovascular
cardiovascular disease
disease (heart
(heart attack,
attack, stroke),
stroke), hypertension
hypertension ,,
age
age &
& positive
positive family
family history
history &&diabetes
diabetes& & sex
sex &
& smoking
smoking
Your
Your HDL
HDL cholesterol
cholesterol level
level will
will fall
fall into
into 1
1 of
of 3
3 categories:
categories:


 High
High (Desirable)
(Desirable) –
– 60
60 mg/dL
mg/dL and
and above
above

 Acceptable
Acceptable –
– 40-59
40-59 mg/dL
mg/dL

 Low
Low –– 40
40 mg/dL
mg/dL and
and less
less

Triglycerides
Triglycerides
A
A high
high level
level of
of trig
trig-- may
may be
be aa sign
sign of
of aa lipoprotein
lipoprotein
problem
problem that
that contributes
contributes to
to heart
heart disease.
disease.

Your
Your triglyceride
triglyceride level
level will
will fall
fall into
into 1
1 of
of 4
4 categories:
categories:


 Normal
Normal –– Less
Less than
than 150
150 mg/dL
mg/dL

 Borderline
Borderline High
High –
– 150-199
150-199 mg/dL
mg/dL

 High
High –
– 200-499
200-499 mg/dL
mg/dL

 Very
Very High
High –– 500
500 mg/dL
mg/dL and
and above
above
LDL
LDL cholesterol
cholesterol is
is considered
considered the the “bad”
“bad”
cholesterol.
cholesterol. Your
Your risk
risk ofof heart
heart disease
disease goes
goes up
up
if
if you
you have
have aa high
high level
level ofof LDL
LDL cholesterol
cholesterol in
in
your
your blood.
blood. Your
Your
LDL
LDL chole-
chole- level
level will
will fall
fall into
into 1of
1of 55 categories:
categories:


 Optimal
Optimal –– Less
Less than
than 100
100 mg/dL
mg/dL

 Near
Near Optimal/Above
Optimal/Above Optimal
Optimal –– 100-129mg/dl
100-129mg/dl

 Borderline
Borderline High
High –– 130-159
130-159 mg/dL
mg/dL

 High
High –– 160-189
160-189 mg/dL
mg/dL

 Very
Very High
High –– 190
190 mg/dL
mg/dL and
and above
above
What can
What can II do
do to
to prevent
prevent high
high cholesterol?
cholesterol?

The
The primary
primary prevention
prevention of of high
high cholesterol
cholesterol is
is to
to
adopt
adopt aa healthy
healthy lifestyle.
lifestyle.

 This
This lifestyle
lifestyle should
should include
include 30-60
30-60 minutes
minutes aa
day
day of
of exercise
exercise on
on most
most oror all
all days
days of
of the
the week
week,,
 aa diet
diet low
low in
in saturated
saturated fat
fat and
and cholesterol
cholesterol,,
 and
and not
not smoking
smoking..
 When would
When would aa doctor
doctor prescribe
prescribe aa medication
medication toto
lower cholesterol?
lower cholesterol?
If
If you
you have
have high
high cholesterol,
cholesterol, the
the main
main goal
goal of
of aa
treatment
treatment program
program is is to
to lower
lower your
your LDL
LDL ("bad")
("bad")
cholesterol
cholesterol level.
level. There
There areare 22 main
main ways
ways to
to
lower
lower your
your LDL
LDL cholesterol
cholesterol level
level::
1-
1-lifestyle
lifestyle changes
changes and and 2-
2- drug
drug treatment.
treatment.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle changes
changes include
include aa
 low-saturated
 low-saturated fat,fat,
 low-cholesterol
 low-cholesterol diet;diet;
 exercise;
 exercise; and
and
 weight
 weight loss
loss if
if you
you are
are overweight. 
overweight. 
If
If following
following aa healthy
healthy diet,
diet, exercising,
exercising, and
and losing
losing
weight
weight don’t
don’t lower
lower your
your risk
risk for
for heart
heart disease,
disease,

then
then your
your doctor
doctor might
might prescribe
prescribe aa medication
medication to
to
help
help lower
lower your
your cholesterol
cholesterol

Even
Even if
if your
your doctor
doctor does
does prescribe
prescribe aa medication
medication
 you
 you must
must still
still follow
follow
 your
 your healthy
healthy diet,
diet,
 be
 be more
more physically
physically active,
active,
 stop
 stop cigarette
cigarette smoking
smoking if if you
you smoke,
smoke,
 and
 and control
control your
your other
other risk
risk factors
factors ::
(e.g.,
(e.g., high
high blood
blood pressure,
pressure, diabetes)
diabetes) for
for heart
heart
disease
disease..
 Some one
Some one else
else needs
needs this
this
information, help
information, help that
that person.
person.
Just pass
Just pass itit on…..>>>>
on…..>>>>