Hinders Your Circulation
High harmful cholesterol, which leads to hindering blood flow, can be caused by dietary cholesterol involving consuming too many animal-based foods that contain saturated fats. It also can be due to hereditary factors, such as your liver producing too much cholesterol for your body's needs.
Too much LDL can cause your blood platelets to become thickened, states the American Heart Association. With time, this thickness leads to your blood becoming sticky and congested. At this point, the health of your blood has become compromised. The thicker your blood, the less oxygen content there is in it. This decreased oxygen level causes your blood to flow less freely through your arteries, capillaries and blood vessels.
As your blood thickens due to the excess LDL cholesterol, circulation becomes more difficult. Your blood is not moving through your arteries as intended. Your body requires more energy to carry out circulation.
Decreases Arterial Health
Too much LDL in your bloodstream can cause your arterial walls and linings to become less elastic and more narrow over time because of the plaque formation gradually building up in your arteries. This decreased elasticity is medically known as atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, not only decreases your arterial health. It also decreases the blood flow to other vital organs in your body, such as kidneys and intestines. As the plaque continues to be deposited, and not removed, it can eventually form a clot that blocks an artery. If this clot was to erupt, it would cause a stroke or heart attack.
Increases Health Risks
The higher your LDL cholesterol level, the higher your risk level of developing a variety of health ailments and diseases, according to the American Heart Association. Other risk factors involving an increased LDL include high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and various forms of cancer.
Can Protect Your Circulatory System
There is good news regarding cholesterol. High levels of the beneficial cholesterol, HDL, can improve your arteries elasticity. HDL is a natural blood thinner and helps keep blood flowing as intended through your circulatory system.
HDL is a natural blood cleanser since it helps remove harmful cholesterol from your arterial walls, as reported by the Mayo Clinic. It transports the cholesterol to your liver where it is processed and then sent to your digestive tract for removal from your body. Sometimes your heredity or genetic makeup can hinder your HDL from removing harmful cholesterol from your blood as efficiently as expected.
