Underestimating the risks of high cholesterol

The threat of high cholesterol, a simple question. If you look at the population of the different countries, you may notice that the higher the level of cholesterol in the population, the higher the level of heart and vascular diseases. Everything is very simple.

But, according to experts, people often do not take seriously the threats that carries a high level of blood cholesterol. According to the Center for Disease Control in 2007, 21, 5% of Americans admitted that they never checked their cholesterol levels.

One problem is that the cholesterol in excess of the norm does not cause symptoms that make people pay attention to their condition.

Quite naturally people pay more attention to the diseases that are themselves somehow manifest. And because we do not feel that our cholesterol levels increased, we will not go with this problem to the doctor. For this reason, people are less seriously to eliminate the problem of high cholesterol levels in the blood than the treatment of various disease states.

People who take drugs to lower cholesterol How quickly reduce cholesterol eleven tips It does not feel feel better. This treatment does not give such improvement, such as an anesthetic for the aching knee, where you feel that the medicine is working. As a result, people are less willing to carry out a long-term course of treatment.

Moreover, high cholesterol does not usually lead to the rapid development of disease. The damage accumulates in the body for years and decades. Elevated cholesterol levels in 20 or 30 years will have a negative impact of 50 or 60. And since this effect becomes apparent after a considerable amount of time, people are not aware of the real need for resolving the issue as soon as possible. They think they can do it later.

Unfortunately, many people do not attach much importance to the fact that they have elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood. People ignore this problem for years and pay attention to it only when they have any cardiovascular disease.

Measures to reduce risks

There are many excellent treatments for heart disease Heart disease and heart attacks: that every woman should know , Arteriosclerosis, and other serious diseases associated with high cholesterol levels in the blood. But it is foolish to allow this situation where a number of changes now could prevent these life-threatening diseases. Reducing the risks of high cholesterol - is a very important step.

What to do? First of all, consult your doctor. All adults must check their blood cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association recommends that all adults aged 20 years and older, at least once every five years, be tested for cholesterol.

You also need to watch your cholesterol levels on their own, that is, to write down their cholesterol levels at a particular time, and if the result is higher than normal, identify those parameters, which should be sought.

When elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood is necessary to seriously consider. You should talk to your doctor about what goals need to put in front of him and how to achieve these goals. Understand what changes are needed in your life. In the presence of heart disease or other risk factors such as diabetes, it is necessary to treat the treatment program more seriously.

Whatever it was, we should not ignore the threat posed by high cholesterol, and it is impossible to delay treatment for the next year.

Elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood does not mean that you are sick today or tomorrow. But if nothing is done, in the future it can have dire consequences.

Phospholipids and their role in the human body

As is known, all our body consists of cells, each cell is surrounded by a shell - a membrane arranged inside the nucleus, mitochondria and the number of other impurities. The composition of the membranes, nuclei and mitochondria of cells includes a special ingredient - phosphatides or phospholipids. The membrane, they are the structural basis for forming a phospholipid layer. Phospholipids are involved in the formation of platelets, red blood cells, the inner lining of the blood vessels, cells of the nervous tissue.

• Antibodies - to protect the body from the outside "aggressor"

Under normal circumstances, the development of antibodies is a defensive reaction in response to the "enemy-antigen" as an infection or foreign protein. Glued antibody to an antigen, then this complex is excreted from the body. This type of protection is called humoral immunity.

What is antiphospholipid syndrome

In 1986 Hughes British scientist discovered the existence syndrome (number of features), which is based on the development of autoimmune (allergic to own tissues) reacting a phospholipid complex present on the platelet membrane, the inner lining of blood vessels and cells of the nervous tissue. This cider has been called antiphospholipid (APS) or Hughes syndrome.

It has been found that under certain systemic (affecting all similar to body tissue) diseases, such as connective tissue disorders in systemic sclerosis, some chronic diseases, tumors, etc. in the body there is a failure, and begins to produce antibodies against its own tissues, in this case to phospholipids. Affixed to the vessel walls, platelets, directly entering the blood coagulation reaction, antigen-antibody complexes result in the development of thrombosis.

Signs

Widespread phospholipids determines the systemic nature of the disease manifestations in antiphospholipid syndrome. The symptoms depend on what kind of amazed krovenozny vessel (artery Vienna, its size), where the vessel is (severe manifestation, with the defeat of the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart, kidneys and brain). Of great importance is the rate and vascular occlusion: it can be closed slowly or rapidly emerging clot - thrombus, which broke away from the wall of a larger blood vessel. In the latter case, it is a pattern of sudden acute diseases, such as myocardial infarction or stroke Stroke - a serious brain injury . If the blood clot is formed gradually, it is often time to develop new branches of the blood vessels (collaterals) to bypass the affected and the disease can occur unnoticed.

When pregnancy is such a blockage of the blood vessels can cause placental insufficiency (insufficient supply of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus) and miscarriage Miscarriage - why you lose the most precious thing? . For pregnant women suffering from systemic scleroderma, often end in miscarriage Miscarriage - can you protect yourself from it? .

In people with APS may also be common symptoms of the disease. This, for example, a thin mesh lace vessels on the surface of the skin (livedo, often on the cheeks), which is particularly clearly visible in the cold. Another common sign of ASF are difficult to treat ulcers in the lower leg, and gangrene (death of tissue) of fingers and toes.

In men, the manifestation of APS is more often myocardial infarction in women - a stroke. It is also often affects the blood vessels of the liver and kidneys. Sometimes APS manifested thrombosis Thrombosis - the cause of heart attack and stroke   blood vessels that supply blood to the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, patients appear after eating the strong attacks of abdominal pain.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis may be suspected if a person under the age of 45 years often have diseases related to thrombosis: myocardial infarction, stroke, necrosis (death of) the fingers and toes, leg ulcers, and so on.

Laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis of APS is the detection of antibodies to various types of phospholipid by enzyme immunoassay blood (ELISA).

Treatment

First you need to identify and treat the underlying disease that led to the emergence of APS (systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, chronic diseases, tumors, and so on). Such treatment will result in a reduction in the blood of antibodies to phospholipids.

Appointed as drugs that reduce the ability of blood sveryvayuschuyu (antiaggreganty), antihistamines (relieve allergic disposition), anti-malarial drugs - they combine the anti-inflammatory effects with the ability to inhibit platelet aggregation, which also contributes to the prevention of thrombosis.

If blood is detected very large number of antibodies and there is a risk of acute toromboza Souda, the blood purification is performed using hemosorption or plasmapheresis (efferent methods of treatment).

In pregnant women with APS timely diagnosis, training and rational management of pregnancy with the use of medication and efferent therapies reduces the risk of complications both during pregnancy and in the postpartum period and contributes to the birth of a viable child.