Nowadays, the spread of heart diseases, including ischemic heart disease, which oftentimes ends up in cardiac infarction, is immense. This is what happens in the course of this disease: specific formations are deposited on the inner surface of the walls of arteries, plaques that narrow the vessel passages or even block it completely.
If atherosclerosis affects the cardiac vessels, when the clearance is narrowed down to 50%, it may lead to ischemic disease. If atherosclerosis affects the cerebral vessels, it may cause a cerebral stroke. Several years ago, atherosclerosis was a disease of the elderly, but it now affects more younger people. Cholesterol or rather high cholesterol is the main factor in atherosclerosis. The main high cholesterol causes are unhealthy dietary habits, lack of physical activity, and smoking. Interestingly, all three of these causes are the marks of a modern man, and all three can be dealt with when one puts his mind to it. Cholesterol treatment is widely accessible nowadays, but not many pay attention to the increasing threat posed by this common condition.
Cholesterol Symptoms
When it comes to observing the symptoms of high cholesterol, it's hard to pinpoint any particular ones that those with level of cholesterol experience because ultimately high cholesterol is not really a disease. But since it is in most cases a prerequisite for atherosclerosis, a good landmark to watch for would be atherosclerosis. High cholesterol symptoms are revealed if you have atherosclerosis symptoms.
They may include the following: narrowed coronary arteries (and angina pectoris as a result); blood clots and the rupture of blood vessels (which may cause ischemic heart disease and mini stroke); pain in the legs because the arteries that supply blood are narrowed; rupture of plaques (which may lead to coronary artery thrombosis); and xanthoma, yellow spots around eyes (basically they are the deposits of cholesterol in the blood). Since cholesterol is a fat, bein overweight usually points to the presence of high cholesterol.
Cholesterol Treatment
The first cholesterol treatment that one must adhere to is a diet to lower LDL cholesterol (discard the high-fat foods and embrace the low-fat foods), accompanied by regular physical exercises. Low-fat diets that are prescribed for lowering the level of this lipid will include: carbohydrates (whole grain bread, rice, cereals, potatoes), proteins (beans and fish), unsaturated fats, and a great deal of fruits and vegetables. When it comes to cholesterol treatment, it's not just about eating healthy foods; it also has to do with abstaining from the saturated fat foods, such as fatty meats, sausages, butters, sour cream, ice cream, hard cheeses, cakes and cookies.
Cholesterol treatment can be non-medicinal, if the process has not gone too far. In that case, diets and physical exercises will be sufficient. If a diet to lower LDL cholesterol does not help, the following step in cholesterol treatment is medication, which lowers the level of cholesterol. The following group drugs may be prescribed to fight high cholesterol; Statins, aspirin, and niacin, each of which variously effects the cholesterol level. Statins blocks the type of chemical needed to form cholesterol; Aspirin prevents the formation of blood clots; and niacin lowers the bad and raises the good cholesterol in the blood. Abstaining from smoking is highly suggested for those who do, because it is vitally important for successful cholesterol treatment. Observing a low-fat diet, no-smoking policy and regular physical exercises might just be the answer for high cholesterol.
