High cholesterol
উচ্চ কোলেস্টেরল
Common Symptoms
Symptom information is not available for this condition yet.
⚠️ This symptom list is for educational purposes. Having these symptoms does not mean you have this condition. See a doctor for proper diagnosis.
Medicines Commonly Used
⚠️ These medicines are commonly used for confirmed diagnoses of this condition. This is NOT a recommendation or prescription. Treatment must be determined by your doctor.
No medicines have been linked to this condition yet.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance made in the liver. It's also found in some of the foods we eat. Your body needs a certain amount of it to work normally.
To travel around in the blood, cholesterol joins with proteins. This combination is called a lipoprotein.
There are 2 main types of lipoprotein.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) carries cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver, where it's removed. That's why HDL is called 'good cholesterol', and why higher levels of this type are better.
Non-HDL lipoproteins are known as 'bad cholesterol'. If there's too much of it, it can build up in the walls of your blood vessels.
Effects of high cholesterol
Non-HDL lipoproteins can build up in the walls of your blood vessels and cause atherosclerosis. This is a slow build up of fatty substances that narrows the arteries. When the arteries narrow, blood can't flow as well, and that can lead to:
- heart disease
- strokes
- peripheral arterial disease (PAD)
High blood pressure is another risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Read more: Heart disease · Stroke · High blood pressure (hypertension)
What are healthy cholesterol levels?
This information is only a guide to healthy cholesterol levels. What matters more is your overall risk of cardiovascular disease. Your doctor works this out by looking at your cholesterol levels together with other things, such as:
- your age
- whether you smoke
- whether you have high blood pressure
- if you have a family history of cardiovascular disease
Blood cholesterol is measured in units called millimoles per litre of blood, often shortened to mmol/L.
A healthy level of:
- total cholesterol is below 5mmol/L
- HDL (good cholesterol) is above 1.0mmol/L for men or above 1.2mmol/L for women
- non-HDL (bad cholesterol) is below 4mmol/L
If you're worried about your cholesterol level, speak to your doctor.
Read more: High blood pressure (hypertension)
What causes high cholesterol?
Many things can raise your chance of developing high cholesterol. Some you can control and some you can't.
Certain lifestyle factors, for example, make high cholesterol more likely. These are sometimes called controllable risk factors, and they include your diet, how physically active you are and whether you smoke.
Some things that influence high cholesterol can't be changed. They include:
- age
- being male
- ethnicity
There's also an inherited condition called familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). Inherited means it can be passed down through families by faulty genes. FH can cause high cholesterol even in people who follow a healthy lifestyle.
How high cholesterol is diagnosed
High cholesterol doesn't usually cause any symptoms on its own, so you can't tell by how you feel. You can have your cholesterol levels checked.
Your doctor may recommend a cholesterol test if they think you're at risk of cardiovascular disease.
If your cholesterol is high, your doctor will talk with you about how to bring it down. This might include things like changing your diet or taking medicine.
Managing your high cholesterol
Lifestyle changes can help lower your cholesterol level. These include:
- eating a healthy, balanced diet
- exercising regularly
- stopping smoking
- drinking less alcohol
The most common medicines for high cholesterol are statins. There are some other types of medicine too, and your doctor will tell you if you need them.
The British Heart Foundation, a UK charity, has some top tips on how to lower your cholesterol.