Heart Disease

At any given time, about a tablespoon of cholesterol circulates in the blood of an average adult man or woman. Cholesterol itself is a waxy material that your body needs for rebuilding cells and is carried in the bloodstream to where it is needed.

Although some cholesterol comes from foods you eat, like whole milk, cheese, and butter, your body makes most of its own cholesterol. One form of cholesterol — called LDL — is used to carry the fats to the rest of the body. That is why it is so important to reduce the fats in your diet — eating saturated fats increases your LDL cholesterol. When you have too much, the extra cholesterol stays in your bloodstream, where it can cause problems.

Fats come in many forms. Saturated fats come from animal sources, like meat, milk, butter, and cheese, as well as from some tropical plants, such as the oils found in coconuts and palms. Eating saturated fats can cause too much LDL cholesterol to build up in the blood. Finding out which foods contain saturated fats, and eating less of them, is an important part of reducing your cholesterol level.

Very common. It is generally accepted that a cholesterol level above 5.2 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) adds to the risk of heart disease. Many millions of people worldwide have high cholesterol. That makes it almost as common as high blood pressure.

The problem with too much LDL cholesterol in your blood is that it helps to form "plaque" (pronounced "PLACK") that builds up in the walls of your arteries. Eventually, this plaque can rupture and stimulate the formation of a blood clot which may suddenly block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to part of your body. Should this rupture occur in an artery of the heart itself, the result is a heart attack. If this happens in a blood vessel of the brain, it is called a "stroke". Both can be very serious. In addition, small pieces of plaque or even the blood clot can break off (known as emboli) and cause blockages in smaller arteries downstream. So, excess cholesterol puts you at unnecessary risk — extra risk you can avoid.

Having high cholesterol does not mean that you are sick. But it does mean you have a condition that can make you sick if you do not take charge of it. Untreated high cholesterol means extra risk for a heart attack or stroke.