CardioVascular Disease & Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood. High Cholesterol occurs when you have too much fatty substance in your blood. There are 2 main sources of cholesterol in your blood:

• Produced from the food you eat.
• Produced by your liver.

Cholesterol is transported in your blood by proteins:

• HDL (Good Cholesterol) – Carries cholesterol away from the cells to the liver where it is broken down or removed from the body as a waste product.

• LDL (Bad Cholesterol) – Carries cholesterol to the cells when needed. When there is excess cholesterol for the cells to use, it can accumulate in the arteries and gives rise to arterial disease.

High levels of HDL are better and Lower Levels of LDL is preferred.

How Does High Cholesterol, Smoking and Diabetes increase my risk of CVD?

Smoking, diabetes and cholesterol increase the risk of heart disease in very similar ways, and so when combined, they greatly exacerbate (increase) the chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

Both high levels of cholesterol, glucose in the blood and smoking damage the walls of the arteries in such a way that fatty deposits can build up much easier. As this occurs, the blood vessels narrow and make circulating blood much harder.

When this happens to the coronary arteries (the arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood and therefore oxygen) a heart attack can occur.

Similarly, when not enough blood is supplied to the brain, stroke occurs and so anything that may limit blood flow increases the risks of a stroke.

High blood glucose levels also have this effect on the blood vessels and blood flow, so if you smoke when you have diabetes, you are putting yourself at a much greater risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

How can I reduce my risk of CVD?

Risk factors can be reduced by increasing awareness of risk factors, encouraging a system of prevention support including lifestyle modification and behaviour change.

These includes:

• Smoking cessation
• Weight Loss
• Diet
• Exercise
• Alcohol

For example, adopting healthy eating choices by reducing the consumption of foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar; avoiding use of substances that increase CVD risk, such as alcohol, tobacco and drugs, and engaging in positive lifestyles that promotes physical activity.