Contents:
- Medical Video: 5 Common Signs of High Cholesterol
- How do you know if I have high cholesterol?
- When do I have to do a blood check to find out cholesterol levels in the body?
- What causes high cholesterol levels in the blood?
Medical Video: 5 Common Signs of High Cholesterol
Not a few people who were healthy and fresh, suddenly had a heart attack or stroke. This can be caused by unconscious high cholesterol levels. High cholesterol levels can cause various chronic diseases. It's like there is a threat that threatens before your eyes, but you are insensitive and don't know it. In fact, you can just know the cholesterol level in the blood. Then, how do you find out?
How do you know if I have high cholesterol?
Many people who do not know that their bodies have high cholesterol, which appears suddenly are only complications of this condition. Indeed, actually there are no specific symptoms that arise if someone has high cholesterol. High cholesterol can only be seen if the condition has caused other diseases in the body, such as coronary heart disease, blocked blood vessels, strokes, or heart attacks. So, don't be surprised if a heart attack or other heart disease appears very suddenly, without any prior warning. But basically, you can find out whether cholesterol in the body is high or not by doing a blood test.
When do I have to do a blood check to find out cholesterol levels in the body?
This blood cholesterol test or test should be carried out by people who have reached 20 years and carried out at least every five years. Even so, there are several opinions regarding recommendations for conducting blood cholesterol checks, namely:
- For men it is better to do a test starting from the age of 20-35 years, while women can start from 20-45 years.
- Adults who, after a blood test, have normal cholesterol, they may carry out the examination within five years.
- Doing a quick check if there is an increase in body weight, do not wait until five years later.
- Whereas adults who are known to have high cholesterol, a history of diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, and various other chronic diseases, should check blood cholesterol more often.
There are three things that will be examined if you do a blood cholesterol test, namely total cholesterol, good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein or HDL), and bad cholesterol (low density lipoprotein or LDL). You have normal cholesterol levels if:
- HDL or good cholesterol: more than 50 mg / dL (the higher the better)
- LDL or bad cholesterol: 70-30 mg / dL (if the number gets lower, it decreases the risk of chronic disease)
- Total cholesterol: less than 200 mg / dL (the lower the better)
What causes high cholesterol levels in the blood?
Many things can affect your cholesterol levels, here are some of them:
- Foods that contain high fat. Foods with saturated fat and trans fat can make your cholesterol soar. Examples of foods that contain high fat are, fried foods, chicken with skin, beef fat, and various types fast food.
- Has excess weight. If you have excessive weight or your body mass index is more than normal, don't be surprised if you see the blood cholesterol test results later. Because, people who are obese and overweight tend to have high cholesterol levels.
- Age, the older a person is, the higher the cholesterol level in his blood. So it's not surprising that older people will have a greater amount of cholesterol than young people.
- Family history. If your family member has had a high amount of cholesterol in his blood, then maybe you will also experience it.
If you experience one of these things, you should immediately see a doctor and do a blood cholesterol test.
