What is Cholesterol

• Roughly 38 million Americans have high cholesterol, according to the American Heart Association. Cholesterol is a fatty wax-like substance that exists in every cell of the body and is needed for building healthy cells and hormones. Serious heart problems can result from high cholesterol. Having high cholesterol isn't the result of eating the wrong foods for only a couple of days, weeks or even a few months, but by years of poor eating habits.
  
  

Good and Bad Cholesterol

• Bad cholesterol, otherwise known as LDL, is the buildup of cholesterol that can cause artery blockage. Good cholesterol, known as HDL, helps prevent a buildup of cholesterol in the arteries by returning it to the liver. An LDL reading of 120 is considered borderline high, while one that's 124 or more falls into the category of high cholesterol. While high LDL numbers are bad, high HDL numbers are good. A HDL number of 60 is high and considered good; numbers less than 40 are low and less desirable.
  
  

Angina

• Angina, which is characterized by the chest tightening and pain, is the result of restricted blood flow due to clogged arteries from too much bad cholesterol in the blood. Arteries become clogged and narrow because of the fatty deposits of plaque building up which restricts blood flow to the heart. Angina can often lead to coronary heart disease.
  
  

Coronary Artery Disease

• Coronary artery disease is the most common heart disease, affecting the circulatory system, heart or both. High cholesterol can develop into fatty deposits in the blood vessels, making it hard for the right amount of blood to course through your arteries. This results in your heart not getting the blood-rich in oxygen it needs, increasing the odds for a heart attack.
  
  

Peripheral Artery Disease

• High cholesterol also increases the chance of peripheral arterial disease. The disease is a result of leg arteries becoming blocked by plaque buildup. As a result, your legs fail to get the needed oxygen or blood and PAD develops, which is a painful disease of the leg arteries. Besides affecting the legs, PAD can raise the threat of a heart attack and other heart problems.
  
  

High Blood Pressure

• While good cholesterol doesn't cause high blood pressure, bad cholesterol does. In fact, good cholesterol can help with attaining a normal blood pressure. High levels of bad cholesterol can stick to the artery walls, as well as other blood vessels. This blocks the passageways for the blood to flow, making your heart work twice as hard. There's also a stronger force of blood on the artery walls, which leads to high blood pressure.
  
  

TIAs and Strokes

• High blood pressure can lead to a transient ischemic attack. Also known as a TIA, a transient ischemic attack is a mini-stroke in which the blood supply to the brain is interrupted. More severe than a TIA, is a stroke that occurs when needed supplies of oxygen and blood are cut off to the brain. Because strokes damage brain cells, they can affect many cognitive and physical abilities.