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Signs of High Cholesterol Levels

If you've got high cholesterol levels, you may not even know it, until the levels show up in a blood test. High cholesterol levels are caused by factors including diet, genetics, metabolic diseases and inactivity.

  1. Who's at Risk

    • When one thinks about the signs of high cholesterol, usually fearful thoughts involving heart attacks, artery clogging, and strokes come into play. It is a wake-up call. Body type is not an issue, according to the American Heart Association. Everyone with either a small, average or overweight body type is at risk for having high cholesterol levels. And even though high cholesterol is traditionally thought of as a men's issue, women are at risk, too.

    Eye Problems

    • The eyes are being used to reveal if an individual has high cholesterol. One abnormality, arcus senilis, is a condition that appears as a white rim around the cornea. The line is caused by both fat and cholesterol deposits in the eye. A more serious concern is Hollenhorst plaque, which involves the retina. Here, cholesterol deposits located in other parts of the body have dislodged and have attached themselves as plaque to the blood vessels of the eye. This condition can be life threatening and needs immediate attention.

    Identification

    • High cholesterol is medically known as hypercholesterolemia. Other than the signs showing up in the eye, which is a relatively new discovery, there are no known signs of high cholesterol until a blood test is done. Many people have high cholesterol without realizing it. High cholesterol is a major risk factor for coronary disease. Determinants for high cholesterol include genetics, smoking, diet and diseases such as diabetes. Cholesterol contains two parts: high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein. Elevated cholesterol in the bloodstream is because of lipoprotein abnormalities. LDL causes harmful artery wall plaque deposits.

      Learn to understand and identify the numbers. According to the American Heart Association, an LDL level below 100 mg/dL is optimal, 100 to 129 mg/dL is near optimal, 130 to 159 mg/dL is borderline high, 160 to 189 mg/dL is high and 190 or above is very high. A total cholesterol level below 200 mg is desirable, 200 to 239 is borderline high and anything over 240 is high.

    Good Cholesterol

    • Not all high cholesterol levels are bad. An elevated good cholesterol, or HDL, is a good thing. This form of cholesterol fights the plaque buildup in the arterial wall. Protection from plaque buildup is best obtained by HDL levels over 60mg/dL. If the level is less than 40 mg/dL, it may increase heart disease risk.

    Prevention/Solution

    • High cholesterol can be lowered through health-promoting lifestyle changes such as eating a heart-healthy diet low in saturated and trans fats and high-fat proteins such as beef. Reduce or eliminate processed foods. Eat a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Other ways to lower high cholesterol include losing weight, using portion control, increasing physical activity and using natural supplements such as red yeast rice.

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