What Are the Dangers of High Cholesterol?

High cholesterol is one of the most common risk factors for heart disease. It’s also one of the easiest to overlook because high cholesterol often causes no obvious symptoms. You may feel completely fine while cholesterol slowly builds up inside your arteries.

At Parkview Cardiology PLLC in New York City, Kedar Sankholkar, MD, MS, FACC, offers cholesterol screenings, lifestyle recommendations, and treatment plans to help you better manage your heart health.

We also prioritize preventive care to reduce your risk of serious complications, including heart attack and stroke.

What’s cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in your blood. Your body needs cholesterol to build healthy cells and produce certain hormones. However, too much of the wrong type can become dangerous.

Types of cholesterol include:

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)

LDL is often called “bad” cholesterol. When LDL levels are too high, cholesterol collects in your artery walls.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL)

HDL is known as a “good” cholesterol because it helps remove excess cholesterol from the bloodstream.

Triglycerides

Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood. Having high triglyceride levels can raise your risk of cardiovascular disease, especially when your LDL levels are high or HDL levels are low.

Parkview Cardiology screens for advanced markers, such as lipoprotein(a) and apolipoprotein B, to provide deeper insight into your cardiovascular disease risk.

Why high cholesterol is dangerous

The main danger of high cholesterol is plaque buildup. Plaque is a fatty material that hardens inside the arteries over time, a process known as atherosclerosis.

As plaque builds, your arteries narrow and become less flexible. Blood has a harder time flowing through your body. That can reduce the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the heart, brain, legs, and other parts of the body.

High cholesterol increases your risk of:

Heart attack

When plaque builds in the arteries that supply the heart, the condition is called coronary artery disease. That can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or chest pressure.

Sometimes, plaque can rupture. When that happens, a blood clot may form and block blood flow to the heart. The blockage can cause a heart attack. That’s one reason cholesterol management is crucial, even for people without symptoms.

Stroke

High cholesterol can also affect the arteries that carry blood to the brain. If plaque narrows these arteries, it reduces blood flow to the brain. If a clot blocks the artery, a stroke can occur.

A stroke can lead to weakness, speech problems, vision changes, disability, or death. Because high cholesterol develops silently, routine screenings play a major role in prevention.

Poor circulation

Cholesterol-related plaque can also build up in the arteries of your legs. That may lead to peripheral artery disease that causes leg pain when you walk, as well as cramping, numbness, cold feet, slow-healing wounds, or changes in skin color.

Don’t ignore these symptoms. They may be signs of reduced blood flow.

Who’s at risk of high cholesterol?

Several factors increase your risk of high cholesterol, including:

• Family history
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Smoking history
• Limited physical activity
• High-fat diet

Some people inherit high cholesterol. Others develop it over time because of lifestyle, aging, or underlying health conditions.

How intervention helps prevent high cholesterol complications

Managing cholesterol involves more than your HDL and LDL numbers. Parkview Cardiology offers a complete cardiovascular evaluation to assess not only your cholesterol levels but also your blood pressure, family history, lifestyle, and overall heart risk.

We provide preventive cardiology care, diagnostic testing, and individualized guidance for people with elevated risk factors such as high cholesterol, hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, or a family history of heart disease.

Your treatment plan for high cholesterol may include nutritional improvements, exercise recommendations, and weight loss. Our specialists may also prescribe medication and establish ongoing appointments to monitor your heart health.

Take high cholesterol seriously

High cholesterol may be silent, but its effects can be serious. With early diagnosis and proactive treatment, you can lower your bad cholesterol levels and protect your long-term cardiovascular health.

If you have high cholesterol or are unsure about your risk, call Parkview Cardiology PLLC in Midtown Manhattan today to schedule an evaluation, or request a consultation online.