LDL Cholesterol

How High LDL Cholesterol Affects Your Health

The liver makes all the cholesterol your body needs. High LDL cholesterol levels increase your risk for:

• Stroke. Excess cholesterol can build up in the arteries and make them narrower. This can reduce blood flow and increase the risk of a blood clot, blocking blood flow to the brain and causing a stroke.
• Heart attack. If a piece of plaque breaks loose and blocks an artery, it can lead to a heart attack.
• Peripheral artery disease (PAD). Blocked or narrowed blood vessels from cholesterol buildup can decrease blood flow to the legs and feet, causing pain, numbness and potentially limb loss.

In addition, high LDL cholesterol is often associated with high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and other medical conditions.

Although LDL cholesterol levels are primarily determined by genetics, a diet that includes too much food from animal sources like meat and dairy can raise LDL cholesterol levels.

Diagnosis of High LDL Cholesterol (Hyperlipidemia)

High cholesterol typically doesn’t cause symptoms and often goes undiagnosed and untreated. In rare cases, people with very high LDL levels may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, yellowish deposits on the skin or eyes and tendon pain.

Regular blood testing can detect and treat hyperlipidemia before it causes serious health problems. The frequency of testing will vary depending on your levels and your risk factors for heart disease, including family history.

In general, healthy LDL levels should be:

• Less than 100 mg/dL for adults with average risk.
• Less than 70 mg/dL for adults at high risk for heart disease.
• Less than 55 mg/dL for adults with heart disease.

Managing High Cholesterol with Lifestyle Modifications

Healthy lifestyle habits can help lower LDL cholesterol levels, including:

• Increase physical activity. A sedentary lifestyle increases the risk for high LDL cholesterol.
• Lose weight. Obesity is a major risk factor for hyperlipidemia and related conditions.
• Eat a healthy diet. A low-sodium diet high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains can help lower LDL cholesterol. Avoid foods high in saturated fat and trans-fat and highly processed foods.
• Quit smoking. Smoking damages the walls of the blood vessels and can raise the risk of accumulating fatty deposits.
• Limit or eliminate alcohol. Alcohol can damage the liver and interfere with its ability to remove cholesterol from the blood.

Treatment for Hyperlipidemia

If lifestyle modifications don’t restore LDL cholesterol to healthy levels, or if you have a family history of high cholesterol, medication(s) may be added to your treatment plan. These may include statins, PCSK9 inhibitors or bempedoic acid, all of which can help to lower LDL levels and reduce plaque buildup in the arteries.

For very high risk patients who don’t respond to or can’t tolerate medication, the UH LDL Apheresis Program offers an intravenous procedure that filters LDL cholesterol from the blood. Participation in this program requires a physician referral.