CHRISTUS Health: September is National Cholesterol Education Month

September is National Cholesterol Education Month and CHRISTUS Health is spreading awareness about the importance and dangers of cholesterol and its impact on both cardiac health and overall health.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that comes from two sources: Your liver and food. The liver makes all the cholesterol your body needs, but eating fatty foods can cause an increase.

High cholesterol levels can raise your risk for significant health conditions, specifically heart disease and stroke. Patients with Type 2 diabetes or obesity face an increased risk.

“Lowering cholesterol has been shown to significantly decrease incidents of heart attacks and strokes,” said Dr. Hector Ceccoli, cardiologist with CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic and CHRISTUS Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital. “In patients that we consider more high risk, we are more aggressively treating cholesterol as we know elevated levels can lead to serious problems.”

Ceccoli said cholesterol comes in two forms – the “good” HDL and the “bad” LDL.

HDL cholesterol carries LDL away from arteries and back to the liver. Too much LDL contributes to buildup in the arteries. Foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and seafood contain “good” cholesterol, while full-fat dairy products, sugary drinks and red meat contain “bad” cholesterol.

“There is no surgical option for cholesterol,” Ceccoli said. “We really emphasize lifestyle changes like exercise, diet and weight loss, and if necessary, medications.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 94 million Americans over the age of 20 have what is considered high or borderline high cholesterol. Because the condition often presents without symptoms, many people are not aware they have high cholesterol until they visit their doctor.

The CDC recommends testing for adults over 20 every four to five years.

Jamie Moore, regional cardiovascular director for CHRISTUS Health Northeast Texas and North Louisiana, said patients with underlying health conditions or a family history of heart disease or diabetes should get checked more often. “With no symptoms, you may not even know it is an issue until something bad happens,” Moore said. “That is why it is so important to get screened, so we can start to treat the problem before it becomes a bigger problem.”

In addition to lifestyle changes, medications like statins can be prescribed to treat high cholesterol. Statins disrupt the production of cholesterol by blocking a specific enzyme inside cholesterol-producing liver cells. This results in less cholesterol being released into the bloodstream.

Patients are encouraged to speak with their health care provider about cholesterol and treatment options.