Why Does High Cholesterol Increase the Risk of Heart Attack?

High cholesterol can cause a variety of health complications if left unchecked – including a heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction. However, not all people with high cholesterol are immediately guaranteed to have a heart attack. Additionally, some people with normal cholesterol levels -– but with other health conditions, such as uncontrolled high blood pressure -- are also at risk of having a heart attack. Although there are other factors that can cause you to have a heart attack, gaining control of your cholesterol can help you to reduce your risk.

How Does High Cholesterol Increase Your Risk?

Inflammation on the inner lining of the arteries of the heart, or coronary arteries, can establish the foundation for the attachment of excess cholesterol in the blood. This could be due to factors such as:

• Smoking
• Consumption of trans fats
• High oxidized LDL cholesterol

As cholesterol begins to attach to the lining of the the coronary arteries, it builds up, eventually forming a thick plaque. This plaque may become so thick that it limits the amount of oxygen and nutrients received by tissues from the bloodstream. Most of the time, a heart attack occurs when this plaque ruptures in an affected vessel of the heart. A blood clot will form at the site of the rupture, also obstructing blood flow to the heart muscle.

What Are the Symptoms of a Heart Attack?

Heart attack symptoms widely vary. Classical symptoms include:

• Deep, pressure-like or tight chest pain or discomfort
• Pain radiating from the chest to the left arm, jaw, or back
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating

Unfortunately, these symptoms do not occur in everyone. There are other, subtle symptoms that may also signal that you are having a heart attack, but can be easily dismissed as something minor. Some of these symptoms include:

• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Heartburn or upper abdominal pain
• Chest or abdominal discomfort
• Sudden, unexplained shortness of breath

These symptoms usually occur in women or in individuals who have diabetes or are elderly. Even if you feel the above symptoms may be minor and go away, you should seek medical attention immediately if you think you are having a heart attack.

How Can I Prevent Having a Heart Attack?

While there is no absolute way of preventing a heart attack from happening altogether, you can lower your risk for having one. Reducing your risk involves a combination of understanding your risk factors, following a healthy lifestyle, and regular checkups with your healthcare provider. High cholesterol levels – especially LDL cholesterol – places you at risk for having a heart attack in the future. Although there are some risk factors (age, gender, family history) that you cannot change, high LDL cholesterol levels can be modified through diet, exercise, smoking cessation, medication, or a combination of these. Your ideal LDL cholesterol levels, also referred to as your LDL goal, is determined by your healthcare provider and is based upon your risk factors for heart disease.

By addressing your high cholesterol levels now, you could lower your risk having a heart attack in the future.

_Sources:

Beers MH, Porter RS, Jones TV. Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. 18th edition, 2006.

Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (PDF), July 2004, The National Institutes of Heath: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.