Reducing Cholesterol

What Is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood.

If you have too much cholesterol in your blood, it can increase your risk of heart disease, heart attack and strokes.

If you have been offered a statin your GP has assessed that you are at significant risks of cardiovascular disease.

Statins can reduce this risk by 30%.

Cholesterol
Healthy Hearts Carmarthenshire

Understanding Cholesterol

British heart foundation
Understanding Cholesterol (English)
British heart foundation
Deall Colesterol (Cymraeg)
Healthy Lifestyle and Diabetes

How Can I Improve My Cholesterol?

Lifestyle changes:

  • Eating a healthy balanced diet
  • Taking regular exercise
  • Giving up smoking
  • Reducing alcohol intake

Treatment to Reduce Cholesterol.

Dietary changes  although a healthier diet can reduce cholesterol, even the strictest low-fat diet can only lower your level by up to 10%. 

Statins are prescribed if your risk of a CVD event is over 10%. 

Why Treat Cholesterol?

High cholesterol increases the risk of:

  • Narrowing of the arteries
  • Heart attack
  • Stroke and mini strokes (TIA)
  • Peripheral arterial disease

Cholesterol can build up in the artery wall, restricting blood flow and increases the risk of blood clots.  The risk of CVD increases as blood’s cholesterol increases.

What Causes High Cholesterol?

Factors that increase your chances of a heart attack or stroke if your cholesterol is high include:

  • An unhealthy diet
  • Smoking – a chemical found in cigarettes stops HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) transporting cholesterol from fatty deposits to the liver, leading to narrowing of the arteries.
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • Family history of heart disease
  • Familial hypercholesterolaemia – an inherited condition
  • Chronic kidney disease