About Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Heart disease is the #1 health problem in the United States. High cholesterol is a leading risk factor for heart disease. If you have high cholesterol, you may have twice the risk of heart disease.*
Unfortunately, you may not know you have high cholesterol. People with high cholesterol often have no symptoms.
Your overall cholesterol is important. But guidelines suggest that you focus on your LDL ("bad" cholesterol) level to manage high cholesterol.
Having high "bad" cholesterol means you have too much LDL cholesterol in your blood. LDL is low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol. LDL cholesterol can build up in your arteries and prevent the blood from getting to your heart. HDL cholesterol is the "good" cholesterol. It carries LDL cholesterol away from your artery walls.
When you have high cholesterol, a thick, waxy plaque can build up in your artery walls. As plaque builds up, the artery narrows and becomes less flexible. If a blood clot forms and clogs an artery narrowed by plaque, you could have a heart attack or stroke.
A healthy artery is open and has a smooth lining (far left). An unhealthy artery contains plaque buildup, commonly caused by high cholesterol.
*Total cholesterol levels of greater than 240 mg/dL.