Cholesterol, according to the American Heart Association, is a soft, waxy substance produced naturally by your body. It plays an important role in the healthy functioning of your body by forming cell membranes and hormones. When it remains at healthy levels, there is no cause for concern; however when your bad cholesterol levels (LDL) rise beyond 160, you are at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. Certain risk factors contribute to high cholesterol, some of which you are in control of.
Smoking
Excess amounts of LDL cholesterol, over time, build in the walls of your arteries and blood vessels, making it more difficult for blood to reach the heart and the brain. These blockages can result in either a heart attack or stroke.
Smoking damages the walls of your blood vessels, making them more susceptible to accumulating fatty deposits, such as those left behind by excess cholesterol. It also lowers your HDL levels, or levels of good cholesterol, which is needed to carry away excess amounts of bad cholesterol from your blood.
Poor Nutrition
Your diet may play the most important role in your cholesterol levels. Since your body naturally produces all the cholesterol it needs to properly function, the excess fat in your diet may cause high cholesterol levels.
The main culprits include foods high in cholesterol and saturated fats, such as animal fats. These are found in red meats, eggs, cheeses and high-fat dairy products. Eliminating or cutting back on these foods can have a profound impact on your cholesterol levels.
Lack of Physical Activity
Living a sedentary lifestyle has an adverse effect on your cholesterol for a number of reasons. First, it promotes obesity, another leading factor in high cholesterol. Second, the National Institute of Heart Lung and Blood states that regular exercise helps reduce your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, while increasing your good cholesterol levels.
Obesity
Obesity is a common cause of high cholesterol levels. The Mayo Clinic states that a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater increases the likelihood of developing high cholesterol. It also increases your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Certain Medical Conditions
Both high blood pressure and diabetes may contribute to your cholesterol in a negative way. High blood pressure increases the pressure on the walls of your arteries, damaging them over time. This can speed the process of the accumulation of fatty deposits along the artery walls.
Diabetics also face an increased risk of high cholesterol, not only because of their high blood sugar, which increases LDL levels, but because as their disease progresses, the consistent high blood sugar damages artery walls. This, again, makes it much easier for fatty deposits to be accumulated along these walls.
Family History
You can't prevent family history, no matter how hard you try. You could be genetically predisposed to hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol). This condition results in extremely high LDL levels which may result in a heart attack at an early age.
The Mayo Clinic also states that should someone in your family, such as your mother, father, brother or sister, suffer from heart disease before the age 55, and you are diagnosed with high cholesterol, your chances increase dramatically for developing heart disease yourself.
