by Aaron Chris

Created on: March 31, 2008   Last Updated: June 22, 2008

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a lipid which travels in the blood as two compounds, LDL (low-density lipoproteins), and HDL (High-density lipoproteins). These two compounds in the wrong ratios, as well as a high total blood cholesterol level, can cause cardiovascular problems such as atherosclerosis (the placky build up of fat on the walls of the arteries) or even a heart attack. HDL cholesterol is considered to be the "good" cholesterol because it moves cholesterol away from the arterial wall, whereas LDL is commonly referred to as "bad" because it carries cholesterol to the arteries.

How do I know if I have High cholesterol?

It is recommended by the American Heart Association that anyone over 20 years of age should have their cholesterol levels checked by a physician every five years and more often then this if they are a 45 year old or older male or 50 year old or older female. Because high cholesterol has no symptoms it is necessary to have a blood test done to determine if your cholesterol levels are high. Atherosclerosis, a disease caused by having excessively high cholesterol levels over a long period of time can cause these symptoms: Angina (chest pain), pinkish-yellow deposits under the skin particularly around the eyelids or on the tendons of the lower legs, and leg pain while walking.

The best test you can have done to see if you have high cholesterol is called a lipoprotien profile. This test will determine these four things:

Total Cholesterol levels:
The sum of all the cholesterol in your blood. Statistically, the higher your total cholesterol the greater the chance that you will develop heart disease.

Low-density lipoprotein (The bad cholesterol):
Cholesterol LDL's carry the majority (approximately 75%) of all the cholesterol in your body. Because fats are not soluble with blood cholesterol needs to be processed before it can be moved around the body. Thus, Cholesterol is created in the liver and packaged into a lipoprotein (has proteins and other things added to it) before it is sent into the bloodstream. Lowering LDL levels is usually the main goal of treating high cholesterol.

High-density lipoprotein (The good cholesterol):
These lipoproteins carry cholesterol from other parts of your body, such as your arteries, back to your liver.

Triglycerides:
The majority of your bodies fat is in the form of triglycerides. Only a small portion of your bodies total triglyceride levels are stored in the bloodstream. While high triglyceride levels on their own

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