Cholesterol Symptoms
It is common for cholesterol symptoms to be completely undetectable. High cholesterol is often discovered on routine blood tests. It is more common if there is a family history, however your lifestyle, how you eat and how much you exercise is a definite factor.
A normal blood sample test will disclose your total cholesterol level, and if it is high would require a more complete test called a lipid panel to determine your LDL, HDL, and triglyceride level.
The National Cholesterol Education Institute guideline suggests that anyone and everyone over twenty years of age should have their blood cholesterol level measured every five years.
The test should be done after a nine to twelve hour fast and provides information about:
- Total Cholesterol
- LDL – Low Density Lipoprotein
- HDL – High Density Lipoprotein
- Triglycerides
Cholesterol Levels considered normal include total cholesterol below 200mg/dL. LDL should be less than 100mg/dL, HDL should be above 60 mg/dL and your Triglycerides should be blow 150 mg/DL in order to be considered in the healthy cholesterol range.
Since you may not have any symptoms until it’s really too late, its very important to have your blood checked for cholesterol every few years…especially if you fall into the high risk category.
You may fall into the high risk category if any or all of these apply to you:
- You eat fast food often
- You drink 3.5% milk and eat cheese all the time
- You are a smoker and/or drinker
- You eat a lot of red meat and fatty meat such as ribs
- You rarely exercise
- You are overweight or obese
Heart Disease and Stroke are two common problems associated with individuals with high cholesterol, and these are no joke…if you think you may be at risk please see a health professional today and check your cholesterol levels.