Tips To Control High Cholesterol
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Why It’s Important to Manage High Cholesterol
High cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. There are often no symptoms or signs of high cholesterol. We must be aware of and understand the role of cholesterol, potential risk factors, and how to manage it in order to protect our heart health. Meanwhile, lifestyle changes and medication are important to help you hit your cholesterol targets.
What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a lipid, which is a type of fat. It aids the body in many normal functions. Cholesterol is produced in the liver and transports fats through the bloodstream.
Moreover, cholesterol forms fat-protein chemicals called lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are classified into three types which are very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs), low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). HDLs are good cholesterol, help to remove lipids from the bloodstream, so higher HDL levels are better which can lower the risk of heart disease.
Furthermore, VLDLs and LDLs, also known as “bad cholesterol,” can cause artery blockage. High levels of cholesterol, LDLs, and triglycerides increase the risk for hardening of the arteries a result may lead to atherosclerosis and heart disease.
Causes and Symptoms
Hyperlipidemia can be caused by family history, a high-fat diet, being overweight, certain illnesses such as diabetes, and certain drugs.
Most people have no symptoms until their blood vessels become clogged and affect their health.
How is High Cholesterol Diagnosed?
A sample blood test is the only way to find out if you have high cholesterol levels. The blood test is to measure blood levels of cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides.
Preferred cholesterol levels:
- Cholesterol levels should be less than 200 mg/dL,
- Triglyceride levels should be less than 150 mg/dL,
- HDL levels should be greater than 40 mg/dL, and
- Recommended LDL levels are less than 130 mg/dL for most people, heart disease and diabetes should have much lower levels (< 70 mg/dL).
Managing High Cholesterol
There are several ways that can help to keep your cholesterol under control and reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.
1. Dietary modification
Reduce intake of foods that high in cholesterol, trans fat, and saturated fats such as oily foods, fatty cuts of meats, butter, dairy products like cheese. You can increase intake of foods high in unsaturated fats, for instance, whole grains, nuts, avocados, vegetable oils, and spreads.
Besides, try to eat it two to four times per week with foods high in omega-3 fatty acids and a variety of fiber and soy protein sources. Reduce your intake of fried foods; instead, opt for foods cooked with steam or on a grill. Hence, avoid sugary drinks such as soft drinks, sweetened milk, and ready-to-drink sweetened coffees and teas.
2. Reduce weight
Weight reduction helps to increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and reduce triglyceride levels. The recommended body mass index for Asians is between 18.5 to <23kg/m², whereas the waist circumference is for males less than 90 cm and females less than 80 cm.
Furthermore, exercise can also help lower cholesterol. At least three times per week for 20 minutes. Physical activity is important to our daily life by adding physical activity can help you to lose weight. Choose activities that you enjoy, such as cycling, swimming, gardening, or walking, to stay active.
3. Be Smoke-Free
Smoking lowers HDL cholesterol. It makes LDL cholesterol “bad cholesterol” stickier and reduces the amount of HDL cholesterol in the blood. This increases the build-up of plaque in your arteries leading to damages to the artery walls. However, smoking risks other factors such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Quitting smoking is a great way to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. Once you quit, within a few weeks your HDL levels will start to increase.
4. Alcohol restriction
Excessive alcohol consumption can raise LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Alcohol consumption should be limited in patients with high cholesterol because it increases plasma triglyceride levels. Therefore, a high intake of alcohol elevates blood pressure and contributes to acute pancreatitis in patients with high triglyceride levels.
5. Check your cholesterol regularly
Every person must check the cholesterol levels at least once every 4 to 6 years. Some people’s cholesterol levels should be checked more frequently than others.
Cholesterol-lowering Medications
If lifestyle changes are insufficient, doctor may prescribe lipid-lowering drugs to help lower your cholesterol while continuing your lifestyle changes. Thus, a healthy lifestyle can help you keep your medication dose low.
Your doctor may suggest a single or a combination of cholesterol-lowering medications.
Table of list cholesterol drugs
How Long Does a Cholesterol-lowering Medication Have to be Taken?
Once you start on a cholesterol-lowering medication, you will most likely be on it indefinitely even if your cholesterol levels have decreased. Many people discover that when they stop taking cholesterol-lowering medications, their cholesterol levels rise again.
Hence, your healthcare professional, as well as you, play an important role in maintaining and improving your heart health.
As we all know, having high cholesterol can lead to other health problems such as heart disease, stroke, and others. As a result, the doctor will prescribe multiple medications to treat the disease concurrently. The patient is likely to get confused if they need to take all the medications on the same day.
Don’t worry, Pillplan offers services that sort your medications by dose and time of administration and deliver them to you once a month. Learn more about them by clicking here.
