Although it may shock you, cholesterol is an essential part of bodily functions such as cell building and digestion (in the form bile). Your body makes its own cholesterol.
Moderation is the key, as with all things. A high level of cholesterol can cause damage to your health, rather than support it. High cholesterol can cause a chain reaction that causes complications in your body.
While there are medications that can reduce the amount of this fatty, waxy substance in the blood, diet and exercise are the best defense.
What are complications of high cholesterol? And what foods can be swapped to help your body fight this disease? Here’s what you need to know.
What are complications of high cholesterol?
High cholesterol can lead to various health problems including heart disease and stroke. The problems caused by high cholesterol are known as atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease and cerebrovascular accident or stroke.
1. High blood pressure
Collecting cholesterol along your artery walls can cause it to combine with other substances, hardening into “plaque”. This will make your arteries less flexible. Healthy arteries are flexible enough to adjust to changes in blood pressure.
This keeps your system stable. Hardened arteries don’t have this flexibility so blood pressure rises. Blood pressure is higher if there’s more plaque.
This increased pressure can cause damage to the artery walls, making them more vulnerable to plaque buildup. High cholesterol and high blood pressure are closely connected.
2. Coronary Artery Disease
High cholesterol can lead to plaque building up in your arteries. This can lead to heart failure. Your heart can’t pump enough blood throughout your body.
Your heart muscle will not be affected if the condition is treated with medications and arterial stents. If the condition is not managed, it can lead to a heart attack.
3. Chest Pain (Angina)
Chest pain is common due to narrowed arteries. This can be caused by plaque buildup and restricts blood flow to the heart.
Advanced coronary artery disease is indicated by this sign. Your heart responds to the lack of oxygen (ischemia), by feeling pain.
Although doctors may prescribe medication to relieve the pain, it is not possible to fix the root cause of the blockage. It is usually necessary to place a stent in the narrowed or blocked arteries.
4. Heart Attack
High cholesterol can cause narrowed arteries to prevent blood from flowing properly to the heart. This can lead to heart disease, as we have already mentioned.
Further complications can arise when plaque builds up in your arteries, leading to a blood clot. A blood clot can block blood flow to the heart, triggering a heart attack.
See more: 7 Ways to Keep Your Heart Healthy
5. Stroke
A stroke can be caused by high cholesterol or plaque buildup. As with your heart, the longer you keep your brain deficient in oxygen and other nutrients, the more damage it will do to your organs.
High cholesterol is a risk factor for stroke and heart attack. This is because plaque buildup and continued cholesterol formation can destabilize existing plaque and make clots more likely.
6. Peripheral Artery Disease
High cholesterol can cause complications in the muscles of your legs. When you walk, this can lead to pain in your legs.
Similar to how you feel chest pain when blood supply is reduced to your heart, the same happens with your legs when oxygen is cut off.
7. Chronic Kidney Disease
High cholesterol can cause kidney damage. This occurs when the arteries that lead to the kidneys become narrow, which reduces blood flow to the organs. Your kidneys become deficient in oxygen over time and can be damaged.
High blood pressure, which isn’t responding well to medication, is one sign you may have blocked kidney arteries.
Your kidneys filter fluids from the blood and regulate blood pressure. Your blood pressure can also be affected if your kidneys aren’t functioning properly.
See more: How to Protect Your Body from Summer any 5 points?
8. Alzheimer’s Disease
A July 2021 study shows that having high LDL cholesterol (or poor cholesterol) in midlife moderately raises your risk of developing Alzheimer’s and dementia.
High LDL cholesterol is a risk factor in dementia. Researchers found no link between high HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides.
Why is this? It is not yet clear what the relationship is between high LDL and Alzheimer’s or dementia. However, the chance of developing dementia is noticeably higher if one has high cholesterol.
