Cholesterol Levels
Author: Dr. April Davall

Modern high pressure lifestyles often result in stress with its
concomitant health problems like cardiovascular diseases
associated with high blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a
lipid, or fat, needed for building cell membranes. It comes
either from diet or is otherwise manufactured by the body
(endogenous cholesterol). The lipid is combined with certain
proteins by the liver to make lipoproteins which carry the lipid
through the bloodstream, to the cells. There are two types of
lipoproteins. One is low density lipoprotein (LDL) and the other
is high density lipoprotein (HDL). While cholesterol is
essential for the cells and for making certain hormones, too
high a concentration in the blood is a major risk for coronary
heart disease.

Cholesterol in the blood comes preponderantly from LDL while a
small portion is from HDL. The risk of coronary disease from
cholesterol comes chiefly from the so called "bad" LDL
cholesterol. If the level of LDL is too high, deposition of fat
(lipid), as plaque, occurs on the artery walls, narrowing them.
This often leads to high blood pressure, heart attacks and
strokes. Hence a low level of LDL is desirable. The HDL
cholesterol is thought to scour the artery walls of deposited
plaque, and is therefore called "good". Hence the higher the
level of HDL, the better it is.

To stay healthy, the aim should be to reduce the LDL
cholesterol level; increase the HDL level; and maintain the
total cholesterol level within normal limits i.e. desirable
levels which correspond to lower risk of heart diseases. As per
the American Heart Association (AHA), less than 200 mg/dL
(milligram per deciliter) i.e. < 200 mg/dL, corresponding to <
5.2 mmol/Lt (millimole per liter) of total cholesterol is the
desirable (low heart disease risk) level; 200 to 239 mg/dL
(5.2-6.2 mmol/Lt) is a borderline high risk level; and greater
than 240 mg/dL (> 6.2 mmol/Lt) is the high risk category.
Considering that LDL and HDL cholesterols are determined
separately, the desired upper limit for the `bad' LDL
cholesterol is considered to be 100mg/dL (2.6 mmol/Lt). In the
case of the `good' HDL, >60 mg/dL is considered the best.

There are a number of medicines available to reduce cholesterol
levels, including the `statin' group of drugs. However, the
first option, before use of drugs, should be the
non-prescription route of diet, physical exercise and weight
loss – a tried and tested method when other reasons for high
cholesterol level, like previous history of artery disease, do
not exist.


About The Author: Dr. April Davall is SEO of
http://MeCholestrol.com, her goal is to tell you All about
Cholesterol, from cholesterol diet to heart disease. You can
learn and print out almost anything about cholesterol. Lots of
info. Click Here to visit.