High cholesterol increases your chances of developing heart disease—the leading cause of death for adults in the United States. Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in fats in your blood which your body needs to function. Having too much cholesterol, though, can be dangerous for your health.
What’s in a Number?
In the past, doctors thought that total cholesterol was a good indicator of one’s risk for heart disease, heart attack, diabetes and stroke. The lower your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) numbers and the higher your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) numbers, the better—or so they thought.
While measuring HDL, LDL and total cholesterol is helpful, many experts now believe that assessing the size of lipoprotein particles can also be beneficial.
The Lipoprotein Link
Research indicates that the blockage of arteries (which often leads to heart disease) is caused by the number and size of the lipoprotein particles that carry cholesterol throughout your body. These lipoprotein particles can build up in your arteries.
Think of it this way: These lipoproteins are the “cars” that carry “passengers” (cholesterol) along the “highways” (arteries)—it’s not the number of passengers in a car that causes a traffic jam (blocked artery), it’s the number of cars. Read more
