Hypercholesterolemia

Hypercholesterolemia refers to the increased level of cholesterol in blood.

According to a study done in 2007 by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 17% of the population in the United States are complaining of high cholesterol level.

So what is hypercholesterolemia?

A serum cholesterol level of ≥240 mg/dl is considered as high. Cholesterol is divided into two categories:

1. HDL: High Density Lipoprotein which is the "good" cholesterol


2. LDL: Low Density Lipoprotein which is the "bad" cholesterol
   
   

   

Causes

• Primary cause is inherital and it runs in families.
  
• Secondary causes are due to unhealthy diet which is high in fat and carbohydrates and lack of excercise. It can also be due to diseases such as diabetes mellitus.
  

Complications

The main complication is that high cholesterol will cause the vessels' walls to harden and the formation of plaques i.e. atherosclerosis that obstruct the blood flow. This may lead to a heart attack.

Treatment

• Decreasing LDL levels and increasing HDL levels.
• High fiber diet
• Low fat diet
• Diet
• Excersice
• as well as medications such as Zocor.

Citation:

Zeiher, A M . (1993). Endothelium-mediated coronary blood flow modulation in humans. effects of age, atherosclerosis, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension.. JCI, 92(2), Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC294898

Choleshtline. Retrienved June 30,2010 from: http://www.heart-health-for-life.com/image-files/choleshtline.jpg

How High Cholesterol Causes Atherosclerosis (plaques) in arteries. Retrieved June 30,2010 from: http://www.highcholesterol.me.uk/images/how-high-cholesterol-causes-atherosclerosis.gif