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  • Writer's pictureElena Cora

The Road to Heart Wellness: Tackling High Cholesterol Head-On

Your body needs cholesterol for important processes like digesting fatty foods and producing hormones; however, too much cholesterol can lead to complications like heart disease and stroke.

Reduce your risk by following a healthy diet and giving up smoking, or consulting your physician about possible medications to lower cholesterol levels




Causes


Cholesterol is a lipid produced in your body and found in foods. Your liver and other organs produce most of it; while the rest comes from diet (notably animal products like meats, egg yolks and whole milk dairy products). Your body also obtains some cholesterol through tropical oils like palm and coconut.

An unhealthy diet high in cholesterol may raise your risk for heart disease. A buildup of cholesterol in the arteries that feed the heart may cause angina chest pain; blockages could result in heart attacks; while blocked arteries leading to your brain could result in stroke.


Some aspects you can control that contribute to high cholesterol levels include an unhealthy diet, being overweight and failing to exercise enough. Other contributing factors that you cannot influence include smoking and having certain medical conditions like diabetes or hypothyroidism. Increase your consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts as well as fish that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids - such as salmon, trout or herring.


Symptoms


Cholesterol is produced both by the liver and found in food. Lipoproteins carry this cholesterol through your bloodstream. Too much cholesterol in your system can lead to heart disease, with symptoms including dull, heavy or tight pain in the chest that spreads to arms, neck jaw and back as well as stroke or heart attacks when an artery supplying the heart becomes blocked with clots that prevent it from working normally.


High cholesterol can often be an invisible risk that only doctors can recognize through a blood test known as a lipid panel. It's essential that your cholesterol be checked so you can lower it through diet, exercise and weight loss (if necessary) while some individuals may require medication as a solution. Smoking must also be avoided completely along with best cholesterol medicine in pakistan.


Treatment


If you have high cholesterol, your doctor will likely suggest lifestyle modifications and prescribe medicine. Statins are commonly prescribed and reduce the amount of cholesterol produced in the body - they're taken orally once daily as tablets. Newer drugs like ezetimibe (Zetia), PCSK9 inhibitors like Alirocumab (Praluent), or Evolocumab (Repatha), may work alongside statins to further lower LDL levels.


Eat healthily and get active to lower cholesterol by choosing foods rich in unsaturated fats like olive oil and nuts; limit intake of meat products such as steak and full-fat dairy products that contain saturated fats; instead choose olive oil as well as nuts as sources of unsaturated fatty acids; consume more salmon or mackerel (containing omega-3 fatty acids that can help lower your cholesterol) for instance and be sure to get adequate rest and cut back on alcohol consumption;

 

Prevention


Lifestyle changes are usually the first line of treatment for high cholesterol levels that don't manifest symptoms, so lifestyle modifications are the primary option for treating them. Eating a heart-healthy diet low in saturated and trans fat, high in unprocessed unsaturated fats and unprocessed unsaturated fats -- as well as plant sterols/stanols -- may help lower LDL levels while increasing HDL ones; consider selecting lean meats, fish, poultry, whole grains, fruits & vegetables plus nuts plus healthy cooking oils like olive/canola oil when choosing foods like this one. Also cut back on salt consumption, sugar sweetened drinks/drinks as well as fast foods!


Maintaining a healthy weight, restricting alcohol and not smoking can all help lower cholesterol. Participation in physical activities will also boost HDL levels. Inherited genes may also cause high cholesterol, in which case familial hypercholesterolemia or FH is the condition. People affected should get their levels checked frequently as medications may be necessary to control them effectively; other inherited conditions that raise levels include one cholesterol ke gharelu ilaj.

 

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