Condition

What is it?

Often found on yearly bloodwork, elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood pose a health concern for about 34 million adults in the United States. Cholesterol, a type of lipid molecule both synthesized within the human body and absorbed from our food, is a precursor to many essential hormones, is used to construct cell membranes, and helps to repair injuries to the blood vessel wall.

When that repair process is prolonged or overactive, though, high levels of cholesterol can lead to plaques and narrowing of those same vessels. In this case, elevated cholesterol can be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, stroke and heart attack.

What causes it?

High cholesterol results from a combination of environmental and genetic factors including diet, lifestyle, weight, alcohol use, stress, and family history.  In addition, other diagnoses play a large role in the development of elevated lipids and in the risks involved with this diagnosis (diabetes, hypothyroidism, and high blood pressure, to name a few).

If your labs show elevated lipid levels, it is important to assess your entire cardiovascular health including your blood sugar regulation, your cardiovascular inflammation and some important genetic factors.  Because cholesterol serves many crucial roles in our physiology, elevations can be caused many different things.