The American Heart Association reports that lowering your cholesterol reduces your risk of heart attack; in the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study, the risk of having a first attack decreased by 31 percent in people taking statins to reduce low-density cholesterol. When discussing cholesterol levels, it's important to distinguish the type of cholesterol that is elevated. While your total cholesterol level is important, the levels of individual components such as high-density lipoprotein, or HDL; low-density lipoprotein, or LDL; and triglycerides should also be considered.
Low-Density Lipoprotein
Low-density lipoprotein is the portion of cholesterol often considered the "bad" type of cholesterol. Lipoproteins carry cholesterol, a fatty substance that can't travel by itself through the blood. Low-density lipoproteins are small, hard, dense lipoproteins that are the most likely to stick to the interior walls of arteries, forming plaque that blocks blood flow to the heart, causing heart attack. Lowering your LDL cholesterol can decrease plaque formation and lower your risk of heart attack. Keeping LDL levels below 100 mg/dL is optimal; levels over 160 mg/dL are considered high.
High-Density Lipoprotein
High-density lipoprotein is a form of lipoprotein that scavenges LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream and from plaque. Because HDL returns LDL from circulation and from plaque formations to the liver, increasing HDL levels reduces your risk of heart attack. In this case, raising your cholesterol levels benefits, rather than harms, your heart. Keeping HDL levels over 60 mg/dL is optimal; HDL levels below 40 mg/dL are considered a risk factor for heart attack, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Triglycerides
Calories that aren't burned are stored in the form of triglycerides. High triglyceride levels often occur in people who are consuming more calories than they need. However, a form of familial hypertriglyceridemia can significantly raise triglyceride levels. In these cases, high triglyceride levels do not always translate into an increased risk of heart attack.
Reducing Risks
Keeping LDL and cholesterol levels low and HDL levels high reduces your overall risk of heart disease, but it's not the whole story. Over 50 percent of people who suffer a first heart attack have LDL cholesterol numbers below the numbers where doctors would normally prescribe statins, drugs to reduce LDL, cardiologist Vera Bittner, M.D., of the University of Alabama reports. Heredity and lifestyle factors such as exercise, hypertension, diet, smoking, weight, diabetes, age and gender also play a part in determining risk. Addressing these lifestyle issues can also help reduce your risk of heart attack.
