Cholesterol is an important substance present in your body, which is fatty and waxy. It is produced by the liver from the fats that we consume through our meals. It consists of lipids, which are essential for several functions in our body. This waxy substance makes up a major part of the cells in our body and the isolate nerve fibres. Cholesterol plays a vital role in the production of sex hormones and steroid hormones. It also produces bile acids, which aid digestion and absorption of fats. These lipids, however, cannot travel through your body by itself, and so bind themselves with the lipoproteins that carry it around your body.
There are two types of cholesterol present in your body, low density lipoproteins or LDL and high density lipoproteins or HDL. The LDL is responsible for carrying the cholesterol to its destination and the HDL is responsible for carrying it back to the liver, where it is destroyed. If the levels of LDL cholesterol increase in your body, it can cause damage as the cholesterol slowly starts piling up in the arteries.
This condition though does not appear to have any symptoms of itself, can prove to be life threatening if not treated. Online healthcare is now available through licensed online clinics, where, for lowering cholesterol levels.
Hazardous effects of high cholesterol
- Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis, hardening and narrowing of blood vessels, is one of the health conditions that you can develop if the levels of cholesterol are not controlled. This condition is usually a result of build up of plaque in your arterial walls. Plaque is basically a substance that consists of cholesterol, fat and calcium which, when it builds up in your arterial walls can cause the arteries to become hard and narrow. The blood vessels are responsible for providing blood and oxygen to your body and if they are blocked, can cease the supply of blood and oxygen to the various organs, which can result in a stroke or a heart attack.
- Heart Attack
As mentioned above, if the cholesterol builds up in your arteries, it can stop the supply of blood and oxygen to your heart. This can damage the part of your heart that does not receive blood and oxygen, resulting in a heart attack.
The lack of blood and oxygen in a part of your heart can lead to death of the heart muscles. As symptoms of a heart attack, you may experience shortness of breath, nausea, chest pain, sweating, vomiting and fainting. You may develop a pain that begins at your chest and travels to your shoulder, arm, back or even your jaw and teeth.
- Stroke
If high levels of cholesterol block the arteries going to your brain, blood and oxygen fail to reach your brain. The lack of blood and oxygen to your brain cells can lead to their death and you may experience a stroke. As symptoms of stroke, you may experience symptoms such as slurred speech or difficulty in speaking, difficulty in walking, blurred or blackened or double vision and paralysis or numbness in one side of your body or your face.