How high cholesterol can impact your general health

Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced in the liver and found in some foods that we eat. Our bodies need some cholesterol to function normally, but when our levels are elevated, we put ourselves at greater risk of a range of health risks of high cholesterol.

While there are some risk factors of high cholesterol that are non-modifiable such as age, family history and certain medications, there are also modifiable, lifestyle habits that can lead to high cholesterol such as a diet high in saturated fat, smoking and being overweight.

You can read more about ways to manage and reduce high cholesterol here.

What does high cholesterol mean?

High cholesterol is when you have too much cholesterol circulating in your blood. The health risks of high cholesterol include a higher risk of heart disease, heart attacks and strokes, so it’s important to maintain your levels within a healthy range.

Cholesterol is a type of blood fat mainly made in the liver, but it is also found in some foods. While often labelled as ‘bad’, cholesterol is actually essential for our body to function normally. It supports brain, nerves, and skin health.

Cholesterol combines with proteins to form lipoproteins, which are transported throughout the body via the bloodstream. There are two main types of lipoproteins:

• Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) – LDL contains a high amount of cholesterol and a low amount of protein. When there is too much LDL in the blood, it can build up in the walls of blood vessels, leading to serious health conditions such as heart attacks and stroke. For this reason, LDL cholesterol is often referred to as "bad cholesterol."

• High-density lipoproteins (HDL) – HDL is often referred to as "good cholesterol" because it carries cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver, where it can be broken down and removed from the body. Higher levels of HDL cholesterol are generally considered beneficial for heart health.

What existing health conditions can increase your risk of high cholesterol?

As mentioned earlier, some medications for other medical conditions may increase the risk of developing high cholesterol. Similarly, there are certain medical conditions that can increase the risk of high cholesterol such as:

• Kidney disease – when your kidneys are not functioning, it changes the way your body handles cholesterol which can lead to higher levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides

• Liver disease – one of the liver’s jobs is to produce cholesterol and clear it from the body, so if the liver is not working correctly your cholesterol levels may increase

• Type 2 diabetes – can put you at greater risk of having high cholesterol due to it lowering HDL (‘good’) cholesterol and raising LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol and triglycerides

• Underactive thyroid – this slows metabolism which can lead to increased LDL cholesterol and may contribute to weight gain, increasing cardiovascular risk

• Sleep apnoea – this is associated with metabolic dysfunction and increased cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart disease

What health problems can high cholesterol cause?

One of the biggest dangers of high cholesterol levels is that most people don’t have any symptoms of the condition. This means that you may be living with high cholesterol levels and not know anything about it.

However, over time high cholesterol causes a range of medical conditions, including:

• Heart disease – high cholesterol levels can cause plaque to build up in the wall of your arteries, narrowing and restricting blood flow to your heart.

• Heart attacks – a build-up of fatty deposits known as plaque can tear or rupture, causing a blood clot to form at the rupture site. This can completely stop blood flow to your heart, causing you to have a heart attack.

• Strokes – occur when a blood clot blocks blood flow to your brain.

• Peripheral artery disease (PAD) - narrowing of the arteries in the limbs, especially the legs, can lead to pain while walking, numbness and slow-healing wounds

• Cognitive decline – high cholesterol has been linked to memory loss and vascular dementia

• Gallstones – excess cholesterol in bile can form crystals which can lead to painful gallstones

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