You need cholesterol to function, but high levels can lead to heart disease or stroke. Your doctor can test your total and LDL cholesterol with a blood sample, called a lipid panel.
You can often prevent high cholesterol by eating more healthily and taking medicines. You may also be able to reduce your risk by stopping smoking and managing other health conditions.
What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that performs many important jobs in your body. Your liver makes all the cholesterol your body needs, and you also get some from food. When too much of it is circulating in your blood, it can build up on the walls of blood vessels. Over time, this can make them stiffer and narrower. This is called atherosclerosis. It can lead to heart disease, including coronary artery disease and stroke.
Your doctor will check your cholesterol levels with a simple blood test. High cholesterol isn't usually a problem until it causes problems, such as blocked blood flow to your heart or brain. If you do have high cholesterol, there are ways to lower it. For example, you can choose a healthy diet and be physically active. You can also take cholesterol-lowering drugs if your doctor recommends them.
High Cholesterol Risk Factors
A waxy substance found in the fats or lipids of your blood, cholesterol helps build healthy cells. But too much can clog your blood vessels and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Your genes -- the instructions your body uses to create and operate its cells and organs -- may affect how much cholesterol you have. Your chances of having high cholesterol also rise if your family members have it. And if you have an inherited genetic condition called familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), you will have very high levels of low-density lipoprotein or "bad" cholesterol starting at a young age and it will get worse over time if left untreated.
Your diet and the medicines you take can also raise your cholesterol level. If you eat too many foods that contain saturated and Tran’s fats, you will have higher cholesterol levels than people who eat less of these foods. And some medicines, such as steroids used to treat lupus and HIV can cause high cholesterol in urdu.
High Cholesterol Symptoms
Many people with high cholesterol have no symptoms, so they don't know they have a problem until it causes an emergency event like a heart attack or stroke. These events happen when high cholesterol leads to the buildup of hardened deposits, called plaque, in your arteries. These deposits narrow your arteries so less blood can pass through them.
If you have high cholesterol, you can lower it by making diet and lifestyle changes. For example, eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, and choose low-fat milk, yoghurt and other dairy products. Avoid foods containing saturated fat and Tran’s fats, and eat more olive oil, fish, nuts and seeds. Use herbs and spices to flavour your meals instead of salt.
Exercise can help, too. And some medications can also lower your cholesterol level, such as statins, which reduce how much cholesterol your liver makes. Other drugs, such as ezetimibe and simvastatin (Vytorin), lower your LDL cholesterol by decreasing the amount of cholesterol your body absorbs from food.
High Cholesterol Treatment
Fortunately, there are many effective treatment options for high cholesterol. They include a heart-healthy diet that limits saturated fat (found mainly in red meat and full-fat dairy products) and adds healthy foods like whole grains, nuts, seeds, and oily fish. Regular exercise and losing excess weight can also improve your cholesterol levels. Some people need to take medication, such as statins.
These drugs lower your blood cholesterol by blocking an enzyme that makes cholesterol in your liver. Other medications, such as ezetimibe (Zetia), work by binding to the bile in your digestive tract and reducing cholesterol absorption in your body.
Newer medicines, called PCSK9 inhibitors, may reduce your LDL cholesterol even more than statins. They work by lowering your body's production of cholesterol, and they are given by injection. Your doctor will discuss these options with you if they think they are right for you. Doctors consider your "chronologic age" and a number of other risk factors when deciding whether to give you cholesterol kam karne ka tarika in urdu.
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