| Are You at Risk for a Heart Attack?
National Cholesterol Education Month
Focuses on Prevention Tri-City Voice,
September 24, 2008 Is your heart a ticking time
bomb? The answer may be found in your
blood cholesterol levels. High
cholesterol is one of the major risk
factors for heart disease.
September is National
Cholesterol Education Month, a good time
to get your blood cholesterol checked
and take steps to lower it if it is
high. It is also a good time to learn
about eating and lifestyle choices that
can help you improve your cholesterol
levels and lower your risk for heart
disease.
“Heart disease is the
leading cause of death for both men and
women,” said Dr. Shelli Bodnar, a family
physician with the Washington Township
Medical Group. “It is important to get
your blood cholesterol levels checked
because there are no signs or symptoms
associated with high cholesterol.”
Cholesterol is a fat-like
substance in the blood. It is
transported to and from the cells by
carriers called lipoproteins.
Low-density lipoproteins, or LDL, is
knows as bad cholesterol.
When too much LDL is in the
blood, it can slowly build up in the
inner walls of the arteries. Together
with other substances, it can form
plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can
narrow the arteries, making it difficult
for blood to flow through them. When an
artery becomes too narrow – or if a clot
forms and blocks a narrowed artery – it
can cause a heart attack or stroke.
About a third of blood
cholesterol is carried to and from the
cells by high-density lipoprotein, or HDL. Known as “good” cholesterol, HDL
seems to protect against heart disease.
Medical experts think HDL carries
cholesterol away from the arteries and
back to the liver, where it is passed
from the body.
“That’s why knowing your
combined cholesterol level doesn’t
really tell the whole story,” Bodnar
said. “You need to know what your HDL
and your LDL levels are to really
understand your risk.”
Reducing Your Risk
To accurately measure
your cholesterol levels, you need to
take a blood test called a lipoprotein
profile. The test is usually done after
fasting for 12 hours. Cholesterol levels
are measured in milligrams (mg) of
cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood.
For most people, LDL should
be below 130 mg/dL. Anything over 160
mg/dL is considered high. HDL should be
kept above 40 mg/dL.
However, targets for both HDL and LDL depend on other risk
factors. In general, the higher your LDL
level and the more risk factors you have
(other than LDL), the greater your
chances of developing heart disease or
having a heart attack.
“If a patient is age 25 and
has high cholesterol, I’m less concerned
than someone with other risk factors
such as diabetes or high blood
pressure,” Bodnar said.
Age, gender and heredity all
affect your chances of having high
cholesterol. While you can’t change
these factors, there are others you can
control, including:
Eat a heart-healthy diet.
While some cholesterol is made by your
body, the food you eat is responsible
for the rest. Eat a diet low in
saturated fat and cholesterol and high
in fruits and vegetables, whole grains,
lean meats and poultry.
Get moving. Physical
activity can increase the level of good
cholesterol and help control other risk
factors for heart disease like obesity
and high blood pressure. You should get
30 minutes or more of physical activity
at least four days a week.
Maintain a healthy
weight. Being overweight is a risk
factor for heart disease and also tends
to increase your cholesterol. Losing
weight can help lower your LDL and raise
your HDL.
Don’t smoke. If you
smoke, quit. Smoking is the single most
preventable cause of death in the United
States and a serous risk factor for
heart disease. Smoking has been shown to
lower good cholesterol and also
decreases your ability to stay
physically active.
“These lifestyle changes can
bring down cholesterol levels by as much
as 20 percent,” Bodnar said. “If your
cholesterol is too high, that may not be
enough and you may need to take
medication to lower it. But the first
step to reducing your risk for heart
disease is getting your cholesterol
checked.”
To learn more about blood
cholesterol and heart disease, visit
www.americanheart.org.
For information about
Washington Hospital programs and
services, visit
www.whhs.com. |
