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Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found in all of your body’s cells. Your body needs it in order to work properly. This is because your body uses cholesterol to hold cells together. Your body also uses it to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods. However, if too much gets into your blood, it can cause problems. This is known as high cholesterol, hypercholesterolemia, or hyperlipidemia.
LDL cholesterol is called "bad cholesterol”, because elevated levels of LDL cholesterol are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. LDL lipoprotein deposits cholesterol on the artery walls, causing the formation of a hard, thick substance called cholesterol plaque. Over time, cholesterol plaque causes thickening of the artery walls and narrowing of the arteries, a process called atherosclerosis. High cholesterol affects 40 million Americans and is one of the risk factors for developing heart disease. Heart disease is the number one killer of women and men in the United States. Each year, more than a million Americans have heart attacks and about a half-million die from heart disease
HDL cholesterol is called the "good cholesterol" because HDL cholesterol particles prevent atherosclerosis by extracting cholesterol from the artery walls and disposing of them through the liver. Thus, high levels of LDL cholesterol and low levels of HDL cholesterol (high LDL/HDL ratios) are risk factors for atherosclerosis, while low levels of LDL cholesterol and high level of HDL cholesterol (low LDL/HDL ratios) are desirable.
Drugs associated with Cholesterol: |
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