Overview
Cholesterol is a fat containing natural component that plays very vital role to produce some essential hormones (especially oestrogen, androgen, testosterone), bile acids, cell membranes, vitamin D, body energy and so on.
Another important thing is that lipoprotein which acts as a carrier protein for cholesterol. High cholesterol or Hyperlipidemia causes for increasing the levels of cholesterol, Chylomicron, triglycerides, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), Intermediate density lipoprotein(IDL), Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) as well as decreasing the levels of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL).
How many types of problems normally observe for having High Cholesterol levels ?
There are several health related issues arise due to having the cholesterol levels high compare to normal ranges which mentioned below -
- Hyperchylomicronemia: Either fasting condition or eating fatty foods directly can release a vast quantities of chylomicron inside the body which ultimately lead to elevate the serum triglycerides levels.
- Hypercholesterolemia: This happens due to increase the LDL cholesterol levels which finally contributes to Coronary heart disease (CHD).
- Hyperlipidemia: Due to increase the all factors that accelerating to elevate the high cholesterol levels such as LDL, VLDL, triglycerides.
- Hypertriglyceridemia: This occurs due to elevate the serum VLDL levels which lead to increase the triglycerides levels in the blood serum.
What are the 'Good Cholesterol' and 'Bad Cholesterol'?
- Bad Cholesterol: It is commonly known as Low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol which produces plaque inside the arteries wall and aid to make blood clots because of narrowing the arteries channel. Ultimately, lead to the Strokes and atherosclerosis heart diseases as these arteries do not able to supply the sufficient blood to the major organs, especially, brain and heart.
- Good cholesterol: High-density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol is familiar as good cholesterol as this cholesterol helps to circulate the blood throughout the whole body properly by removing the LDL cholesterol plaque from the arteries wall, even from body as well. That is why, individual need to maintain the standard levels of HDL in the body to avoid the health related major issues.
What are the common symptoms for increasing the cholesterol levels in the body?
It is very difficult to detect high cholesterol symptoms initially without performing any blood test as body remains silent and people only go to do the cholesterol levels check when major complications are identified.
To make yourself more careful for further avoiding these serious health issues, it is recommended from healthcare experts for every person to do the cholesterol levels check on a regular basis after reaching certain age ( 20 years and above).
What factors contribute to cause high cholesterol levels in the blood?
There are some factors that have a tendency to accelerate your cholesterol levels become high. Among them,
- Eat cholesterol rich foods continuously.
- Lack of physical exercises by passing a sedentary lifestyle.
- Do Smoking regularly
- Drink alcohol too much rather than standard limit.
- Obesity or overweight.
- Older age or above 50.
- Family history.
- Ethnicity and race.
- Go through a stressful life during long time.
- Some medical conditions, for examples, Diabetes, Liver problems, Chronic kidney problems, Hypothyroidism, Systemic Lupus erythematosus (SLE), AIDS/HIV.
What are the standard levels for different types of cholesterol?
- The standard levels of cholesterol depends on some factors, such as age, gender and so on. Total cholesterol are counted by the summation of both HDL and LDL cholesterol plus 20% of triglycerides together. The different types of standard charts for both adults and children are given below -
- Normal Cholesterol Table for adults male and female: All numbers are counted as a unit of milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl).
|
Level |
Total Cholesterol |
Triglycerides |
HDL Cholesterol |
LDL Cholesterol |
|
High |
240 or >240 |
200 or >200 |
60 or >60 |
160 or >160 |
|
Borderline |
200-239 |
150-199 |
Not applicable |
130-159 |
|
Standard |
<200 |
<100 |
40 0r >40 for
men and 50 or >50 for women |
<100 |
|
Low |
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
<40 for men and
<50 for women |
Not applicable |
- Cholesterol Table for Children: All numbers are counted as a unit of milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl).
|
Level |
Total Cholesterol |
Triglycerides |
HDL Cholesterol |
LDL Cholesterol |
|
|
Children Age (in years) |
|||||
|
0-9 |
10-19 |
||||
|
High |
200 or >200 |
100 or >100 |
130 or >130 |
Not applicable |
130 or >130 |
|
Borderline |
170-199 |
75-99 |
90-129 |
40-45 |
110-129 |
|
Standard |
170 or <170 |
<75 |
<90 |
>45 |
<110 |
|
Low |
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
<40 |
Not applicable |
What should maintain people to prevent elevating the serum cholesterol levels?
There are some steps which help people to reduce or prevent increasing cholesterol levels in the body. These are pointed out below -
- Eat more vegetables, omega 3/6/9 containing marine fishes (Salmon, halibut, tuna etc) and fruits by reducing or avoiding cholesterol rich fatty foods from the daily meals.
- Eat minimum a small piece of garlic everyday.
- Do working out regularly at least 150 minutes per week.
- Stop smoking.
- Avoid drinking alcohol too much.
- Manage stress by following the stress management guidelines.
- Maintain body weight according to Body Mass Index (BMI).
- Check the cholesterol levels every 5 years after the age 20 and every year after the age 65.
What are the common medicines used to correct the cholesterol levels?
Cholesterol lowering medicines or antihyperlipidemic drugs are normally prescribed by the healthcare provider after checking the total lipid profile in the body for correcting the individual cholesterol levels. However, some medicines are mentioned below -
- HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitors: This is also known as Statins. In this class, the most common medicines ( as per generic name) are Atorvastatin, Rosuvastatin, Fluvastatin, Lovastatin, Simvastatin, Pitavastatin and Pravastatin. These are mainly used for lowering the LDL cholesterol which eventually helps to reduce or prevent Atherosclerosis related heart problems due to having a lot of therapeutic effects.
- Fibrates: These drugs are mostly used for reducing triglycerides level and increasing the HDL cholesterol level in the serum. The commonly used medicines in this group are Gemfibrozil & Fenofibrate.
- Niacin or Nicotinic acid: This drug greatly increases the HDL cholesterol level as well as reduces both LDL cholesterol and triglycerides at certain percentages.
- Bile Acid Sequestrants: These medicines are Colesevelam, Cholestyramine, Colestipol which are basically used to reduce the serum LDL cholesterol level.
- Proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9I): Alirocumab and Evolocumab are two drugs which bind with the LDL receptor sites. That is why these are used as an adjunct therapy with other major lipid lowering medicines to reduce LDL cholesterol level.
- Cholesterol Absorption Inhibitors: Only Ezetimibe is available in the market which used alone or combinedly, basically with statin to lower the LDL cholesterol in the blood.
- Some marine sources that contain omega-3 are also effective to reduce serum triglycerides levels.