Low HDL Cholesterol Symptoms

Low high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol levels that are due to smoking can produce a dangerous symptom: increased blood clot formation, according to the Mayo Clinic. Blood clot formation in coronary and carotid arteries can lead to a heart attack or increase the risk of a stroke. Therefore, having too low an HDL cholesterol level (the good cholesterol) can be as dangerous to your health as having too high a low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, level.

Low HDL Cholesterol Explained

• Cholesterol, a waxy substance that aids our body's cells and is important in sex hormone production, usually moves freely throughout our bloodstream. But when we don't have enough of the good kind---HDL---and we have too much of the bad kind---LDL---a build up called plaque in the arteries can occur, according to the Mayo Clinic.

  Plaque in the arteries can decrease the blood flow to all of our organs, including the heart, kidneys, and brain. Several things can cause us to have too-low an HDL level and those can include smoking, being obese and a lack of physical exercise.

Initial Symptom: Inflammation

• Having too low an HDL (good cholesterol) level flowing in our blood stream hinders the removal of excess LDL cholesterol, thus resulting in damaged artery walls and reduced oxygenation of our blood. As excess LDL starts accumulating in our blood vessel walls, because it isn't being removed and taken to the kidneys as it should, inflammation can occur, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Blood Vessel Rupturing

• Once blood vessels are inflamed, and HDL levels continue to remain too low to remove excess LDL from the blood, both red and white blood cells begin to get trapped in the inflamed area rather than migrating on to other organs and body parts that need them. This can lead to another symptom of having too low an HDL level: blood vessel rupturing. When blood vessels rupture, internal bleeding occurs, according to the American Heart Association.

Atherosclerosis Calcification

• As low HDL levels continue to make excess LDL removal from the blood vessels almost impossible, plaque continues to grow within the artery. After an extended period of time, atherosclerosis calcification worsens, and it stops just being fatty streaks in the artery walls. It grows in size until the blood vessel becomes severely blocked. This calcification blockage, according to the American Heart Association, can lead to several other possible symptoms: kidney failure, heart failure and heart attack.

Erectile Dysfunction

• As blood flow is decreased in the blood vessels, many organs in the body suffer, including the male penis. And just as this decrease in blood flow to other vital organs can result in symptoms and complications (the kidneys and heart can fail due to a lack of blood), the penis is adversely affected too, resulting in erectile dysfunction, according to the American Heart Association. Therefore, a low HDL level may seem a minor thing, but coupled with high LDL and overall cholesterol levels, it can be a serious health concern with many symptoms.