Understanding Your Risk for High Cholesterol

The CDC reports that at least 10% of adults over 20 have high cholesterol, defined as a reading of 240 mg/dL or higher. These numbers may not seem significant, but they can hurt your quality of life and overall health.

Knowing your risk factors for high cholesterol is crucial in preventing chronic disease. If you're unsure of your risk, the Heart Clinic of Hammond team offers testing to help determine it.

Our two expert cardiologists, Dr. Ghiath Mikdadi and Dr. Farid Zayed, specialize in cardiac interventions, catheterization, and stress testing to assess your heart health and cholesterol levels.

Medical conditions that increase your risk

High cholesterol is a condition where your total cholesterol number is greater than 240. Cholesterol is a specific lipid or fat in the blood that accumulates in the arteries. It increases your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Cholesterol is sometimes unavoidable, unless you have a chronic health condition that you can manage through lifestyle changes and medications. Some of the medical conditions that increase your risk for high cholesterol include type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Type 2 diabetes causes your good cholesterol to decrease and your bad cholesterol to increase, putting you at risk for heart disease and stroke.

Family history plays a role

Unfortunately, your family history does play a role in developing high cholesterol. If an immediate family member has high cholesterol, your risk of developing it increases significantly.

Familial hypercholesterolemia isn't typical in the United States, affecting only about one million adults. However, having a family history is something we use to determine your chances of having high cholesterol.

Lifestyle factors for high cholesterol

Lifestyle factors, or modifiable risk factors, are things you do daily that increase your chances of developing high cholesterol. You can modify your lifestyle to adjust these factors and reduce your cholesterol and risk.

A major lifestyle factor associated with high cholesterol is eating foods high in saturated fats or trans fats. Foods high in these nutrients contribute to high cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease.

Obesity is also a significant factor in high cholesterol, especially when you don't get enough physical activity. A sedentary lifestyle leads to weight gain, often causing high cholesterol and heart disease.

Another lifestyle factor is smoking. If you smoke, you're at a higher risk for high cholesterol due to blood vessel damage and the accumulation of fats in them. The combination of smoking, obesity, and a poor diet significantly increases the risk of developing high cholesterol and other chronic health issues.

Other factors that increase your risk

Age and sex are two factors you can't control that contribute to high cholesterol. The older you get, the more likely you are to develop it, because the body's ability to clear cholesterol is reduced compared to when you were younger.

Men often have higher LDL levels (bad cholesterol) than women at any age. They also have lower HDL (good cholesterol) levels than women, which contributes to higher overall cholesterol levels.

The good news is that we offer lifestyle modifications, medications, and diagnostic tools to help determine your risk and prevent heart disease and other complications associated with high cholesterol.

Don't hesitate to contact the Heart Clinic of Hammond team today in Hammond or Amite, Louisiana, to discuss high cholesterol treatments or request an appointment online.