Hypercholesterolemia is not a disease but it is a symptom that indicates high cholesterol in the body. Normally your body requires certain amounts of cholesterol for normal function and metabolism. But any excess of cholesterol in the blood when you consume more of fatty foods can affect your cardiovascular system causing heart attack and stroke.
Cholesterol is the wax like substance that exists in the cell membrane and is essential for normal metabolism of the body. When too much of cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) is in the blood it will make small deposits (plaque) on the walls of the artery which can eventually cause obstruction in the normal blood flow to vital organs like heart, brain and kidneys. Blood cells affected by plaque can join together to form clots thus completely blocking the blood flow causing heart attack.
Types :
HDL and LDL are the two types of cholesterol found in your blood. High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) is considered as “Good” cholesterol and Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) is the “bad” one. Triglycerides are yet another type of cholesterol and any increase in triglyceride will affect the good cholesterol level. For instance when the levels of triglycerides are high it will lower the levels of good cholesterol and increase the volume of bad cholesterol. It is the triglycerides that pose high risk for getting heart attack and stroke.
Normal/desirable level of cholesterol in the blood is 140-200 mg/dl, and you are in the risk line if the reading is between 200-239 mg/dl and you have high cholesterol if the score goes above 240.
LDL Cholesterol or Bad Cholesterol :
Normal: 100-129 mg/dl and for people with high risk of heart disease the level should be below 100 mg/dl
Borderline level: 130-159 mg/dl
High: 160 and above