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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staff
High cholesterol can cause atherosclerosis, a dangerous accumulation of cholesterol and other deposits on the walls of your arteries. These deposits — called plaques — can reduce blood flow through your arteries, which can cause complications, such as:
- Chest pain. If the arteries that supply your heart with blood (coronary arteries) are affected, you may have chest pain (angina) and other symptoms of coronary artery disease.
- Heart attack. If plaques tear or rupture, a blood clot may form at the plaque-rupture site — blocking the flow of blood or breaking free and plugging an artery downstream. If blood flow to part of your heart stops, you'll have a heart attack.
- Stroke. Similar to a heart attack, if blood flow to part of your brain is blocked by a blood clot, a stroke occurs.
References
- Cholesterol. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4488. Accessed April 20, 2010.
- High blood cholesterol: What you need to know. National Cholesterol Education Program. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/wyntk.pdf. Accessed April 20, 2010.
- Executive summary of the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atp3xsum.pdf. Accessed April 19, 2010.
- Arsenault BJ, et al. Beyond low-density lipoprotein cholesterol: Respective contributions of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio to coronary heart disease risk in apparently healthy men and women. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2009;55:35.
- Daniels SR, et al. Lipid screening and cardiovascular health in childhood. Pediatrics. 2008;122:198.
- Ford ES, et al. Concentrations of low density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol among children and adolescents in the United States. Circulation. 2009;119:1108.
- Cholesterol lowering drugs. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=163. Accessed April 19, 2010.
- Guyton JR, et al. Safety considerations with niacin therapy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2007;99:22C.
- Koski RR. Omega-3-acid ethyl esters (Lovaza) for severe hypertriglyceridemia. Pharmacy and Therapeutics. 2008;33:271.
- Cooking for lower cholesterol. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=515. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- Kodama S, et al. Effect of aerobic exercise training on serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2007;167:999.
- Poli A, et al. Non-pharmacological control of plasma cholesterol levels. Nutrition and Metabolism in Cardiovascular Diseases. 2008;18:1.
- Natural medicines in clinical management of hyperlipidemia. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed April 23, 2010.
- FDA warns consumers to avoid red yeast rice products promoted on internet as treatments for high cholesterol products found to contain unauthorized drug. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2007/ucm108962.htm. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- Miller M, et al. Triglycerides and cardiovascular disease: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. In press. Accessed April 27, 2011.
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