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About Cholesterol
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Cholesterol has been around for thousands of years. It’s a
natural function of the human body. The modern story of cholesterol
and how it affects us today, actually began during a government
study in 1951.
The Pentagon sent pathologists to Korea to examine the bodies of
servicemen who lost their lives during the war. Autopsies were
conducted on 2,000 soldiers.
The results were astounding to the medical community of that
time. Normally, no one under 35 dies of coronary heart disease.
Remember, this was 1951!
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More than 75 percent of the soldier had yellow deposits of
atherosclerotic plaque on their artery walls. The average age of
these soldiers was 21 contradicting the assumption that such artery
clogging deposits were only prevalent in older men.
The results of the Army pathologists rocked the medical
community. Prior to these autopsies, doctors had no idea how early
the process of heart disease began.
Not long after this discovery, a name was given to the major
contributor to the buildup of plaque and to heart disease risk –
cholesterol. More recent studies have shown that for every 1 percent
drop in cholesterol levels, there is a 2 percent decrease in the
risk of a heart attack.
Since those original studies, the risk of heart disease stemming
from cholesterol has exploded. In 2002 it was estimated that 107
million American adults now have a blood cholesterol level high
enough to require medical advice. Unfortunately, the numbers keep
rising. Despite this epidemic problem, there is good news. You can
do something about the problem and that’s what this guide is all
about. In plain English, we will take a laymen’s look at
cholesterol, the causes, effects and what you can do to reverse the
negative impact it has on your personal health.
What is Cholesterol?
As mentioned above, cholesterol in and of itself, is a natural
function of the human body. Every living being requires a certain
amount of fat to exist. Like everything in nature, it only becomes a
problem when there is an imbalance.
The processing of fat begins when it gets absorbed in the
intestines. From there it heads to the liver. The fat requires a
delivery system to the rest of the body to be used immediately but
also to be stored in fat cells for future use.
In order for the fat to enter the delivery system, while it is in
the liver it is split into two different types of fat, cholesterol
and triglycerides.
Once this transformation takes place, the two types of fat
(cholesterol and triglycerides) are packed into vehicles for
carrying the fat to the fat cells throughout the body using the
bloodstream. These vehicles are called lipoproteins.
There are three types of lipoproteins:
1. Very Low Density Lipoproteins (VLDL)
2. Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL)
3. High Density Lipoproteins (HDL)
Under normal circumstances, the bloodstream does a very efficient
job of carrying the LDL and HDL Lipoproteins throughout the body.
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat like substance that presents itself
naturally in cell walls and membranes everywhere in your body. Your
body uses cholesterol to produce many hormones. It also uses it to
produce vitamin D and the bile acids that help to digest fat.
Where problems arise is when there is an over abundance of
cholesterol in your bloodstream. The cholesterol deposited by the
LDL leads to a narrowing of the blood vessels.
If this occurs, the excess can be deposited in the arteries of
the heart which could result in stroke or heart disease. This is
called atherosclerosis. This is why LDL is known as “bad
cholesterol.”
HDL usually collects the bad cholesterol and takes it back to the
liver. That’s why HDL is known as “good cholesterol.”
Cholesterol is not the only cause of heart disease, but it is a
contributing factor. Here’s how it works.
Cholesterol can only attach to the inner lining of the artery if
it has been damaged.
Once the lining of the artery is damaged, white blood cells rush
to the site followed by cholesterol, calcium and cellular debris.
The muscle cells around the artery are altered and also accumulate
cholesterol.
The fatty streaks in the arteries continue to develop and bulge into
the arteries. This cholesterol “bulge” is then covered by a scar
that produces a hard coat or shell over the cholesterol and cell
mixture. It is this collection of cholesterol that is then covered
by a scar that is called “plaque.”
The buildup of plaque narrows the space in the arteries through
which blood can flow, decreasing the supply of oxygen and nutrients.
This cuts down the supply of blood and oxygen to the tissues that
are fed by that blood vessel.
The elasticity of the blood vessel is reduced and the arteries’
ability to control blood pressure is compromised. If there is not
enough oxygen carrying blood passing through the narrowed arteries,
the heart may give you a pain that is called angina.
The pain usually happens when you exercise because at that time
your heart requires more oxygen. Usually it is felt in the chest or
the left arm and shoulder, although it can happen without any
symptoms at all.
Plaque can vary in size as well as shape. All through the coronary
arteries you can find many small plaques that cover less than half
of an artery opening. Some of these plaques are completely invisible
in the tests that doctors use to identify heart disease.
The medical community used to think that the primary concern was
the larger plaques. They thought these posed a greater threat
because of their size and that they were more likely to cause a
complete blockage of the coronary arteries.
While it is true that the larger plaques are more likely to cause
angina, it is the smaller plaques that are packed with cholesterol
and covered by scars that are more dangerous. They are considered
unstable and prone to ruptures or bursting releasing their load of
cholesterol into the bloodstream. This causes immediate clotting
within the artery. If the blood clot blocks the artery totally, it
will stop the blood flow and a heart attack occurs.
The muscle on the farter side of the occurring clot fails to get
the oxygen it needs and begins to die. This kind of damage can be
permanent.
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