Your Health Matters
By Claudia Parks, R.N.

According to the American Heart Association, September is "Cholesterol Awareness Month." High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for both heart disease and stroke. It would be beneficial if you broke out in a rash or developed some sort of physical sign when your cholesterol is high, but there are no signs that your cholesterol is elevated until you suffer a heart attack or stroke. This is why it is so important to have an annual physical with blood tests to detect trends in your cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol is the Jekyll and Hyde of the body. Like the literary split personality, it has a good side because it is needed for certain important body functions. But for many Americans, cholesterol also has an evil side. When present in excessive amounts, it can injure blood vessels and cause heart attacks and stroke.

The body needs cholesterol for digesting dietary fats,

making hormones, building cell walls, and other important processes. The bloodstream carries cholesterol in particles called lipoproteins that are like blood-borne cargo trucks delivering cholesterol to various body tissues to be used, stored or excreted. But too much of this circulating cholesterol can injure arteries, especially the coronary ones that supply the heart. This leads to accumulation of cholesterol laden "plaque" in vessel linings, a condition called atherosclerosis.

Claudia Parks, RN, is a former doctor's office and emergency room nurse and retired as an educator from Fulton County Schools. She writes Your Health Matters as a public service; the information here is designed to help you make informed choices about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your physician. Claudia and her husband make their home in the beautiful north Georgia Mountains. You may contact Claudia at yhm@windstream.net.

When blood flow to the heart is impeded, the heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen, causing chest pain (angina). If a blood clot completely obstructs a coronary artery affected by atherosclerosis, a heart attack (myocardial infarction MI) or death can occur.

Everyone over the age of 20 should get their cholesterol levels measured at least once every 5 years. As individuals age they should have annual screenings and especially if they have a history of elevated test results. The exam that is usually performed is a blood analysis called a lipoprotein profile. This includes:

LDL (low density lipoprotein cholesterol, also called "bad" cholesterol)

HDL (high density

lipoprotein cholesterol, also called "good" cholesterol)

Triglycerides (fats carried in the blood from the food we eat. Excess calories, alcohol or sugar in the body are converted into triglycerides and stored in fat cells throughout the body.)

Results of your blood tests will come in the form of numbers. Here is how to interpret your cholesterol numbers:

LDL "bad" Cholesterol: Less than 100 - Optimal; 100 - 129 -Near optimal; 130 - 159 - Borderline high; 160 - 189 - High; 190 and above - Very high.

HDL "good" Cholesterol: 60 and above - Optimal; helps to lower risk of heart disease; Less than 40 in men and less than 50 in women - Low; considered a risk factor for heart disease.

Triglycerides: Less than 150 - Normal; 150 -199 - Borderline high; 200 - 499 -High; 500 or higher - very high!

Total Cholesterol: Less than 200 - Desirable; 200 - 239 - Borderline High; 240 and above - High!

Your total blood cholesterol is a measure of LDL, HDL cholesterol and other lipid components. Doctors usually recommend total cholesterol levels below 200.

High blood cholesterol is a major health issue in both men and women over the age of 50. Overall, an estimated 105 million American adults have total blood cholesterol levels of 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) and higher, which is above desirable levels. Of these, 42 million have levels of 240 mg/dl or higher which puts them at "high risk".

According to Prevention Magazine: "Don't fool yourself into thinking that high blood cholesterol is a problem only for middle-aged or elderly men and women. In fact, up to one-third of American children from age two through the teenage years, have high cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease in adulthood."

Next week I will continue with factors that affect cholesterol levels, lifestyle changes and common cholesterol-lowering medicines. We need to take our own and family's cholesterol levels seriously!