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High Cholesterol Causes and Treatment
Bad cholesterol (LDL) can increase your risk for other conditions. Learn about types of cholesterol and how to manage high cholesterol.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a type of fat in the blood. Some cholesterol is needed by your body to work properly, and your body makes the cholesterol you need. But you also get cholesterol from the foods you eat.
There are 2 different types of cholesterol:
- HDL, or good cholesterol, carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver where it is removed from your body. High HDL levels are linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
- LDL, or bad cholesterol, can raise your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Talk to your doctor if you have high LDL levels.
What causes high cholesterol?
Some of the things that cause high cholesterol levels are out of your control. These risk factors include:
- Age and gender: After you reach age 20, your cholesterol naturally begins to rise.
- In men, cholesterol generally levels off after age 50.
- In women, it tends to stay low until menopause. Then it rises to about the same level as men.
- Disease: Certain diseases can raise your risk of high cholesterol, including hypothyroidism, chronic kidney disease, and some types of liver disease.
- Family history; High cholesterol may run in your family.
Some causes of high cholesterol can be controlled, such as:
- A diet high in fat
- Being overweight
- Lack of physical activity
- Smoking
What are the symptoms of high cholesterol?
Too much bad cholesterol builds up as plaque in the arteries that carry blood away from your heart. This is known as hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis. Hardening of the arteries can lead to coronary artery disease (CAD), blood clots, and inflammation that cause heart attacks and strokes.
How is high cholesterol diagnosed?
High cholesterol levels don’t make you feel sick. So a blood test is the only way to know your levels of LDL and HDL.
What are some high cholesterol treatments?
There are medications your doctor can prescribe that lower your cholesterol.
You can also make some lifestyle changes to lower your cholesterol:
- Eat more heart-healthy foods
- Lose weight and maintain a healthy weight
- Be active on most—if not all—days of the week
- Stop smoking
More Information
For more information about cholesterol, visit the MedlinePlus website.
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Individual and family medical and dental insurance plans are insured by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company (CHLIC), Cigna HealthCare of Arizona, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of Illinois, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of Georgia, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of North Carolina, Inc., and Cigna HealthCare of Texas, Inc. Group health insurance and health benefit plans are insured or administered by CHLIC, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CGLIC), or their affiliates (see a listing of the legal entities that insure or administer group HMO, dental HMO, and other products or services in your state). Accidental Injury, Critical Illness, and Hospital Care plans or insurance policies are distributed exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of The Cigna Group Corporation, are administered by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, and are insured by either (i) Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company (Bloomfield, CT). The Cigna Healthcare name, logo, and other Cigna Healthcare marks are owned by The Cigna Group Intellectual Property, Inc.
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La aseguradora publica el formulario traducido para fines informativos y la versión en inglés prevalece para fines de solicitud e interpretación.
The insurer is issuing the translated form on an informational basis and the English version is controlling for the purposes of application and interpretation.