High cholesterol increases the risk of other conditions, depending on which blood
vessels are narrowed or blocked. Some of these diseases include:
Coronary heart disease
The main risk associated with high cholesterol is coronary heart disease (CHD).
Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting heart disease. If your
cholesterol is too high, it builds up on the walls of your arteries. Over time, this buildup (called
plaque) causes hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). This condition causes arteries to become
narrowed, slowing blood flow to the heart. The narrowed blood vessels reduce blood flow to the heart.
This can result in angina (chest pain) or in a heart attack in cases when a blood vessel is blocked
completely.
Stroke
Stroke can result if the blood supply to part of the brain is reduced. A stroke occurs
when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain becomes blocked or bursts. When
stroke occurs, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so it starts to die.
Peripheral vascular disease
High cholesterol also has been linked to
peripheral vascular disease (PAD),
which refers to diseases of blood vessels outside the heart and brain.
In PAD, fatty deposits build up along artery walls and affect blood circulation, mainly in arteries
leading to the legs and feet.
Diabetes
Diabetes is another disease linked to high cholesterol because diabetes can upset the
balance between HDL and LDL levels. People with diabetes tend to have LDL particles that stick to
arteries and damage blood vessel walls more easily. Glucose (a type of sugar) attaches to
lipoproteins (a cholesterol-protein package that enables cholesterol to travel through blood).
Sugar-coated LDL remains in the bloodstream longer and might lead to the formation of plaque. People
with diabetes tend to have low HDL and high triglyceride (another kind of blood fat) levels, both of
which boost the risk of heart and artery disease.
High blood pressure
High blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol also are linked. When the
arteries become hardened and narrowed with cholesterol plaque and calcium (atherosclerosis), the
heart has to strain much harder to pump blood through them. As a result, blood pressure becomes
abnormally high.
Stroke can result if the blood supply to part of the brain is reduced. A stroke
occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain becomes blocked or bursts.
When stroke occurs, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so it starts to die.
High cholesterol also has been linked toperipheral vascular disease (PAD),which refers to diseases of
blood vessels outside the heart and brain. In PAD, fatty deposits build up along artery walls and
affect blood circulation, mainly in arteries leading to the legs and feet. Diabetes is another
disease linked to high cholesterol because diabetes can upset the balance between HDL and LDL levels.
People with diabetes tend to have LDL particles that stick to arteries and damage blood vessel walls
more easily. Glucose (a type of sugar) attaches to lipoproteins (a cholesterol-protein package that
enables cholesterol to travel through blood). Sugar-coated LDL remains in the bloodstream longer and
might lead to the formation of plaque. People with diabetes tend to have low HDL and high
triglyceride (another kind of blood fat) levels, both of which boost the risk of heart and artery
disease. High blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol also are linked. When the arteries
become hardened and narrowed with cholesterol plaque and calcium (atherosclerosis), the heart has to
strain much harder to pump blood through them. As a result, blood pressure becomes abnormally high.
© Copyright 1995-2008 The
Cleveland Clinic Foundation. All rights reserved
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This document was last reviewed on: 10/25/2004
