High Cholesterol causing risk factors and screening test

Cholesterol
Cholesterol is the Greek word chole - means bile, stereos - means solid, and the chemical ol - means alcohol, Cholesterol is first seen in solid form in gallstones.

Cholesterol is a waxy like steroidal metabolite mostly found in the cell membranes and transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. Cholesterol is an essential structural component of cell membranes in mammal required to maintain proper permeability and fluidity of membrane. Additionally cholesterol is needed for the manufacturing of bile acids, many steroid hormones, and several fat soluble vitamins.

Cholesterol risk factors & causes
Some of the common High cholesterol risk factors and Cholesterol causes are:

• Diet - Habitual eating of foods that are high in saturated fats or high cholesterol foods.


• Age - The blood levels of cholesterol tend to increase with aging.


• Weight - People with overweight or obese are more likely to have high blood cholesterol than others. They also mostly tend to have lower HDL good cholesterol levels.


• Gender - Men likely to have high LDL levels and low HDL levels than women, before age 50. After age 50, women (post-menopausal years & decreasing amounts of estrogen) are more likely to have raised LDL level than men.


• Genetics - Many people are genetically predisposed to have high cholesterol levels. A variety of minor defects in the genetic can lead to excessive LDL cholesterol production and decreased capability of their removal.


• Mental stress: Several studies have shows long term of stress can raise blood cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol Symptoms
High cholesterol is usually diagnosed on routine screening and has no known sign and symptoms of hyperlipidemia. It is more common if you have a family history of it, but lifestyle factors - habitual eating (such as eating saturated fat rich diets) & low or no physical activity can clearly play a major role.

Cholesterol screening test
High cholesterol has no symptoms thus routine screening test is needed for early diagnosis. High cholesterol can even be diagnosed without fasting.

For adults, in a routine testing result are grouped in three categories of risk:

• Desirable - a cholesterol level of below 200 mg/dL (5.18 mmol/L).


• Borderline high - a cholesterol level of 200 to 239 mg/dL (5.18 to 6.18 mmol/L). Doctor's may advices to order a lipid profile to see if the high cholesterol is due to the amount of bad cholesterol (high LDL Cholesterol) or good cholesterol (high HDL Cholesterol) in the blood. On seeing the results of the lipid profile the doctor will decide up on the type of treatment.


• High Risk - A cholesterol level of greater than or equal to 240 mg/dL (6.22 mmol/L) is considered high risk. Doctor's may advised to take a lipid profile and other tests to determine the cause of high level of cholesterol and an appropriate treatment will be prescribed based on the results.