Facts About Cholesterol That Are Worth Knowing
The Oasis Reporters
September 14, 2023
By Dr. Chin Akano
Someone that I knew well was once Ill.
She went to her doctor in Lagos and was told that she was ill because her cholesterol was high and was thus placed on a cholesterol-lowering medication.
How ridiculous.
I laughed because high cholesterol on it’s own does not have symptoms and does not make someone unwell.
High cholesterol can only be diagnosed through blood tests, though someone with for example high cholesterol can develop what is known as corneal arcus caused by the deposition of fatty substances in the cornea around the iris ( eye).
The problem with high cholesterol is that it can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
Permit me to unpack what cholesterol is, as a medical doctor.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance in your blood. Many do not know that there is good cholesterol, known as High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and the bad one, known as Low Density Lipoprotein ( LDL). So while we aim to lower our LDL, we aim to increase our HDL.
Note that everyone has some cholesterol in the blood.
How does high bad cholesterol affect your health?
Our blood carries oxygen( from the air we inhale) and nutrients (from the food we eat), around our body to our important organs like heart, lungs, muscles, brain, so that they can work properly.
We have tubes/vessels known as arteries that supply these organs with blood containing oxygen and nutrients. So, the tubes need to be open, to work efficiently. It is like a pipe in your house that supplies tap water. It should not be blocked, because if blocked by debris, water will not rush out.
The bad cholesterol can get deposited in the lumen of those arteries and clog them up. When they are clogged, less blood passes through, thereby reducing the amount of oxygen that gets to our heart and brain. If this happens to your heart muscle, you have a heart attack and if it happens to your brain, you will have stroke. This type of stroke is known as ischaemic stroke.
HIGH CHOLESTEROL PART 2
Having discussed already what cholesterols are, their types and the effect on the body, let’s discuss causes and treatment.
When you do a blood test for your cholesterol, usually the lab should check your bad cholesterol known as low density Lipoproten (LDL), your good cholesterol HDL and work out your total cholesterol. This also includes another type of fatty tissue in the body known as triglycerides.
If your high total cholesterol is high, it may mean that you have a lot of the bad cholesterol LDL) in your blood which puts you at risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.
Meanwhile, you are in good health if your good cholesterol (HDL) is high. The HDL in decent level in your blood, can help to keep the bad one (LDL) in check and reduce your risks of having a heart attack or stroke.
What causes high bad cholesterol?
* There may be no known reason.
* Eating a lot of saturated fat like butter, fatty meat, sausages, cheese, cakes and pies are factors.
* Smoking
* Taking too much alcohol.
* Not doing regular exercises. That is having a sedentary lifestyle.
* Some health issues like liver disease, kidney disease and thyroid problems can also cause it.
* Some people inherit it from their family. Though that is not very common. That is called familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH)
What to do to reduce your bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase your good cholesterol (HDL)
* Eat diet full of vegetables and fruit
* Eat diet low in saturated fat
* Eat foods that contain monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats( you can google them).
* Foods high in fibre like fruits and vegetables as above, oats, beans and lentils are recommended.
* Quit smoking.
* If you cannot quit drinking alcohol, cut it down to a sensible level.
* Of course, exercise as often as you can. 150 minutes a week is recommended.
Being active every day is the way forward.
Even simple activities like climbing the stairs, taking a calm walk, gardening, dancing is sufficient.
If these lifestyle modifications and changes did not help reduce your cholesterol and if the level of your bad cholesterol is very high and your risk of developing heart attack or stroke is high, your doctor may prescribe medications that lower cholesterol in the blood. The commonest ones are known as statins like Atorvastatin, Simvastatin, Pravastatin etc. Taking them will lower the LDL level and reduce your risk of developing heart attack or stroke.
To help you the best, while taking the above medications, also eat healthily, do exercises, quit smoking and cut down on alcohol intake and your risk will lower considerably.
Thanks for reading
Dr Chin Akano is a University of Benin, Benin City trained medical personnel. He currently lives and practices in Cardiff, UK.
