The higher your blood cholesterol level,
the greater your risk for developing
heart disease or having a
heart
attack. Reducing your cholesterol is very important as heart
disease is the number one killer of women and men in the United
States.
Everyone age 20 and older should have
their cholesterol measured at least once every 5 years. It is best to
have a blood test called a "lipoprotein profile" to find out your
cholesterol numbers. This blood test is done after a 9- to 12-hour
fast and gives more accurate information than the cholesterol tests
that are sometimes done in drugstores.
When there is too much cholesterol (a fat-like substance) in your
blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries. Over time, this
buildup causes "hardening of the arteries" so that arteries become
narrowed and blood flow to the heart is slowed down or blocked. The
blood carries oxygen to the heart, and if enough blood and oxygen
cannot reach your heart, you may suffer chest pain. If the blood
supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by a blockage,
the result is a heart attack.
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