fitness news
,
Font size Cardiovascular Health
Silent Killer: Do you have high cholesterol?
– Reported, September 12 2014
IT’S one of Britain’s biggest hidden health hazards and can lead to stroke and heart disease. We tell you how to keep your levels safe.
ACCORDING to cholesterol charity Heart UK six out of every 10 people in Britain have raised or abnormal levels of cholesterol in their blood but many dont realise it as there are no outward signs.
Thats why high cholesterol is often known as a silent killer, explains Lucy Jones, dietitian for Channel 4 series The Food Hospital.
“t dramatically increases the risk of circulatory and heart disease but often people arent aware their blood cholesterol is raised until they display symptoms of a condition it has led to.
High cholesterol can affect anyone regardless of gender, ethnicity or age, although family history is a big factor.
If you have a family history of high cholesterol or a relative has had a heart attack it will raise your risk, adds Lucy.
One way this can happen is when parents pass on faulty genes that lead to inherited conditions such as familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH).
Heart UK says FH affects one in 500 people and causes high cholesterol levels from birth.
However for most people it is lifestyle factors such as smoking, high alcohol intakes, poor eating habits that include too much saturated fat and a lack of exercise that cause the problem.
Whatever your risk its vital to know how to get your cholesterol levels checked and what positive lifestyle changes you can make, such as diet and exercise, to help to reduce it. Getting your cholesterol checked is easy, just ask your GP.
Everyone aged 4074 in England is entitled to a free NHS health check every five years which includes a cholesterol test.
For more, http://www.express.co.uk/
