Health Encyclopedia

High blood cholesterol and triglycerides

Definition

The medical term for high blood cholesterol and triglycerides is lipid disorder. Such a disorder occurs when you have too many fatty substances in your blood. These substances include cholesterol and triglycerides.

A lipid disorder increases your risk for atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Alternative Names

Lipid disorders; Hyperlipoproteinemia; Hyperlipidemia; Dyslipidemia; Hypercholesterolemia

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

High cholesterol and other lipid disorders can be inherited (passed down through families) or associated with:

Fatty diets
Disease such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, Cushing syndrome, and kidney failure
Certain medications, including birth control pills, estrogen, corticosteroids, certain diuretics, and beta-blockers
Lifestyle factors, including inactivity and regular, excessive alcohol use

If you smoke and also have high cholesterol you have an even greater risk for heart disease.

Lipid disorders are more common in men than women.

Signs and tests

Tests to diagnose a lipid disorder may include:

Lipoprotein test
Lipoprotein(a) analysis
HDL test
LDL test

Treatment

How you are treated depends on your age, health history, if you smoke, and other risk factors for heart disease, such as:

Diabetes
Poorly controlled high blood pressure
Family history of heart disease

There are steps that everyone can take to improve their cholesterol levels, and help prevent heart disease and heart attack. Here are the most important ones:

Choose foods low in saturated fat.
Exercise regularly.
Lose weight if you are overweight.
Get routine health checkups and cholesterol screenings.

If lifestyle changes do not help or your cholesterol level remains very high, your doctor may may recommend medication. There are several types of drugs available to help lower blood cholesterol levels, and they work in different ways. Some are better at lowering LDL cholesterol, some are good at lowering triglycerides, while others help raise HDL cholesterol.

The most commonly used drugs for treating high LDL cholesterol are called statins. Other drugs that may be used include bile acid sequestering resins, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, fibrates, and nicotinic acid (niacin).

Expectations (prognosis)

If you are diagnosed with high cholesterol, you will probably need to continue lifestyle changes and drug treatment throughout your life. Periodic monitoring of your cholesterol blood levels is necessary. Reducing high cholesterol levels will slow the progression of atherosclerosis.

Complications

Possible complications of high cholesterol include:

Atherosclerosis
Coronary artery disease
Stroke
Heart attack or death

Calling your health care provider

Have your cholesterol checked every 5 years or so, starting between the ages of 20 and 30. If you have high cholesterol or other risk factors for heart disease, make appointments as recommended by your doctor.

Prevention

To help prevent high cholesterol:

Keep a healthy body weight
Eat a well-balanced, low-fat diet

References

Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults. Executive Summary of the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). JAMA. 2001;285:2486-2497.

Review Date:1/23/2008
Reviewed By:Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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