Cholesterol Drives Heart Risk Through 2 Lipoproteins, Not Simple Good-Bad Labels
Updated
Updated · newswav.com · Aug 9
Cholesterol Drives Heart Risk Through 2 Lipoproteins, Not Simple Good-Bad Labels
3 articles · Updated · newswav.com · Aug 9
Summary
About 70% to 80% of the body’s cholesterol is made by the liver, and the article says the real cardiovascular danger is not cholesterol itself but excess LDL building up in artery walls.
LDL carries cholesterol to tissues while HDL returns excess to the liver, but risk rises when too much LDL circulates, oxidizes and triggers inflammation that can form plaques, clots, heart attacks or strokes.
Small, dense LDL particles appear more likely to penetrate artery walls, and higher HDL levels alone do not reliably cut heart-attack risk if HDL function is poor.
Doctors now assess cholesterol alongside blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, family history and kidney disease because people with the same cholesterol reading can face very different heart-disease risks.
Lifestyle steps such as exercise, weight control and diets rich in vegetables, beans, nuts and fish can lower risk, while Statins remain important for higher-risk patients because they also reduce inflammation and stabilize plaques.