Reducing High Blood Cholesterol
Table of Contents |
Introduction |
Types Of Cholesterol |
Managing Cholesterol Levels |
Managing Cholesterol Levels: If You Do Not Have Coronary Heart Disease |
Managing Cholesterol Levels: If You Have Coronary Heart Disease |
Lowering Your Blood Cholesterol: Changing Your Eating Habits |
Fat Finding |
Now You're Cooking |
Eating Smart Away From Home |
Getting Physical |
Losing Excess Weight |
Medication
Heart disease is a woman's concern. Every woman's concern. One in ten American
women 45 to 64 years of age has some form of heart disease, and this increases to
one in four women over 65. Overall, about 9 million American women of all ages
suffer from heart disease. Another 2 million women have had a stroke. Both heart
disease and stroke are known as cardiovascular diseases, which include serious
disorders of the heart and blood vessel system.
High blood cholesterol is a condition that greatly increases your chances of
developing coronary heart disease, the main form of heart disease. That is
because extra cholesterol in the blood collects in the inner walls of the
arteries, allowing less blood to get to the heart.
Today, about one-quarter of American women have blood cholesterol levels high
enough to pose a serious risk for heart disease. Blood cholesterol among women
tends to rise from the age of 20 onward, but goes up sharply beginning at about
age 40. It continues to increase until about age 60. More than half of women
over age 55 need to lower their blood cholesterol.
HEART DISEASE RISK FACTORS
Risk factors are habits or traits that make a person more likely to develop a
disease. Many of those for heart disease can be controlled. These include:
- Cigarette smoking
- High blood pressure
- High blood cholesterol
(high total cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol)
- Low HDL cholesterol
- Overweight
- Physical inactivity
- Diabetes
The more risk factors you have, the greater your risk. So take action--take control!
|
