Do you have high cholesterol? It’s a silent health risk that can be deadly. Here’s what you should know about good and bad cholesterol – and your heart disease risks.
To help avoid heart disease and stroke, you need to maintain the proper ratio between good and total cholesterol.
A high cholesterol level doesn't have obvious symptoms, but it can increase your risk for conditions that do have symptoms.
Cholesterol plaques begin in artery walls and grow for years, slowly blocking blood flow in the arteries.
Here's a list of questions and answers you may have about cholesterol, how to manage it, and how to treat it.
Results of your blood test will come in the form of numbers. Here’s how to interpret your cholesterol numbers.
Do you have "borderline" high cholesterol? That means your cholesterol level is above normal but not in the "high" range.
The goal is a lower LDL and a higher HDL to prevent and manage heart disease.
High cholesterol can raise your risk of heart attack and stroke, but you don’t want your levels to be too low either.
Very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) is regarded as bad cholesterol. VLDL and LDL are considered more harmful than HDL.
HDL is short for high-density lipoprotein. HDL cholesterol is the well-behaved "good cholesterol."
If high HDL is good, are higher numbers even better? Not necessarily. With HDL, you can have too much of a good thing.
Although it's a common problem, many of us don't know the first thing about high triglycerides.
Anyone can develop high levels of triglycerides, a type of blood fat, but certain factors can make them likelier in women.
Some people have high triglycerides because they inherited a genetic predisposition from their parents.
A good diet and exercise plan can lower triglyceride levels, improve cholesterol, and decrease the chance of heart disease.
You’ve taken a big step to protect your heart by taking medicine. But triglyceride meds can have side effects.
Exercise can help you lower unhealthy triglyceride levels. Start with 20-30 minutes of aerobic activity.
When your triglyceride levels are too high, you may not have symptoms. It's a "silent" problem with big implications.