Good and bad cholesterol: this is what we should know, according to a doctor
Cardiovascular disease risk factors and the individual context of each patient should be considered
Photo: chayanuphol / Shutterstock
Regardless of your age, it is key that one of the priorities you have for your health care is control cholesterol levels in your body.
The US National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute recommends initial testing between ages 9 and 11 and every five years thereafter.
But for those who are not so young, for example, The recommendation for people over 40 years of age is to have a lipid profile done annually.
Besides, it is advised that it be added to the annual blood test if your primary care doctor doesn't order it, as it's easily overlooked with the myriad of other issues that stick around.
A post on News-Medical.net explains that cholesterol is a waxy substance that is produced in the liver and is found in the blood and in all cells of the body, it is needed to form cell walls, create hormones, act as protectors of cells and more.
We must know that there are two types of cholesterol: the good and the bad.
For muscles and cells to get energy, cholesterol is carried in low-density lipoprotein (LDL), commonly called "bad cholesterol," and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good cholesterol."
Cholesterol level is not always a cause of heart attack
However, Dr. Carlos Jaramillo explains on his Instagram account that It is not entirely appropriate to classify cholesterol as bad or good or use it as a crucial indicator for the generation of a heart attack.
"There have been no causality studies that, as such, can demonstrate it," he asserts.
According to Jaramillo, according to world statistics, half of the patients who have a heart attack have normal cholesterol levels and those with high levels do not suffer from serious heart conditions.
The specialist cites an article published by the American Heart Academy entitled "The Debate Is Over" in which it is exposed the importance of the results of an Apolipoprotein B-100, ApoB100 or Apo B assay.
This is used to assess the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD); sometimes in monitoring treatment to lower cholesterol levels or to diagnose a rare hereditary deficiency of Apo B.
It's also important to consider cardiovascular disease risk factors on an individual basis rather than relying on numbers.
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