Contents:
- Medical Video: British Heart Foundation - Cholesterol and heart disease
- What is normal cholesterol level?
- Normal cholesterol levels can also get heart disease
- Why do people with normal cholesterol still get heart disease?
Medical Video: British Heart Foundation - Cholesterol and heart disease
Have you ever checked how much cholesterol is in your blood? If your cholesterol is high enough, your doctor or health worker will certainly encourage you to make various lifestyle changes to prevent heart disease. Whereas if your cholesterol is normal, the doctor might say there is nothing to worry about right now. Eits, wait a minute. Is it true that normal cholesterol means you are free from the risk of heart disease? Not necessarily! Here are the reasons.
What is normal cholesterol level?
There are two types of cholesterol in the body. The first is good cholesterol (HDL). Normally, adults have good cholesterol of 40 mg / dl or more. You don't need to worry if your good cholesterol level is more than that number. Because the good cholesterol can protect you from heart attacks and strokes.
Unlike good cholesterol, bad cholesterol (LDL) that is too high can trigger heart disease. This is because bad cholesterol can clog arteries. So, make sure adults have no more than 100 mg / dl of bad cholesterol.
As for total cholesterol in adults, the normal level is 200 mg / dl. Usually your cholesterol is considered high when it reaches 240 mg / dl or more.
Normal cholesterol levels can also get heart disease
So far, many people think that only those with high cholesterol levels must be aware of the risk of heart disease. In fact, this is not true. According to a study at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as many as 75 percent of patients who were rushed to hospital due to heart attacks had normal cholesterol levels.
The same thing was voiced by Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt from Harvard Medical School. This cardiologist and researcher revealed that about 50 percent of people who have had a heart attack are not worried about cholesterol.
A number of other studies also prove that normal cholesterol levels are not "green light" for someone to lead an unhealthy lifestyle such as eating carelessly or smoking. Even after checking your cholesterol level is normal, there is still a possibility of heart disease lurking.
Why do people with normal cholesterol still get heart disease?
As explained by Dr. Deepak L. Bath, there are many risk factors for heart disease. If your cholesterol level is normal, you may have other risk factors. For example heredity, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Other causes include smoking, passive smoking, lack of exercise, and frequent exposure to pollution.
So, cholesterol checks alone aren't enough to determine if you are free from the risk of heart disease. According to Dr. Deepak, if you have other risk factors mentioned above and you have had a heart attack or stroke, there's nothing wrong with taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. You are also advised to live a healthy lifestyle and diet.
