Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a natural fatty substance found in your blood which is essential for the body to function. However, too much of it can cause fatty deposits to build up in the arteries, increasing your risk of heart and stroke illnesses.

Made in the liver, cholesterol can also be sourced from the food we eat from high-fat foods. It’s carried in the blood by proteins and when these combine, they’re referred to as lipoproteins.

There are two main types of cholesterol or lipoproteins:

1. ‘Good’ cholesterol or High-Density Lipoproteins (HDL): Take fat away from your artery walls
2. ‘Bad’ cholesterol or Low-Density Lipoproteins (LDL): Stick to your artery walls and causes a fatty build-up.

Another type of fat found in our blood is Triglyceride, which is linked to unhealthy lifestyles such as drinking too much alcohol or eating high-fat and sugary food. Triglycerides can cause narrowing of the artery walls, increasing your risk of heart disease or stroke.

You can have a normal level of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol but still have a high triglyceride level.

Our cholesterol check is done by pricking your finger, similar to the NHS Health Check. A drop of blood is put on a strip of paper. This is put into a machine that checks your cholesterol in minutes.

Our Cholesterol checks follows NICE (National Institute for Health & Care Excellence) guidelines.

Total cholesterol:

Less than 5.0mmol/L.

HDL

Above 1.0 mmol/L for males and above 1.2mmol/L for females.

LDL

Should be below 3.0 mmol/L.

Triglycerides (non-fasting)

Should be below 2.3 mmol/L.

Triglycerides (fasting 10-14 hours)

Should be below 1.7 mmol/L.

Total cholesterol/HDL ratio

Should be below 6

High cholesterol is often related to unhealthy lifestyle habits, such a diet high in saturated fat, not getting enough exercise, being overweight or having too much body fat and smoking. Making changes to your lifestyle will help reduce your cholesterol. It’s also important to take any medication prescribed by your doctor.

High cholesterol does not have any symptoms, so you can only find out if you have it from a blood test. It can sometimes be inherited from our families and can increase with age. Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a type of high cholesterol you are born with. There’s no cure for FH, but treatment can reduce the risks of developing heart disease and early detection is vital.

It’s recommended that you get your cholesterol checked regularly, particularly if you are over 40 or if you are exposed to other risk factors in your diet, lifestyle or family history. There are no physical signs and symptoms of high cholesterol. If you already have high cholesterol or a medical condition that increases cardiovascular risk, you should take advice from your GP on how often to get checked.

Our Face-to-Face Well Checks* also include a cholesterol test, while our Online Well Checks can help you understand your cholesterol and lifestyle risks.

Book yours online here

(*Availability subject to current COVID-19 restrictions)

Lifestyle changes can help prevent and significantly reduce cholesterol.

You can help to reduce your cholesterol by:

1. Eating a healthy balanced diet that is low in fat and high in fruit, vegetables and healthy carbohydrates
2. Managing your weight in line with recommended levels.
3. Increasing your physical activity and exercise.
4. Limiting your alcohol to recommended levels.
5. Quitting smoking if you smoke.

Find out more about lifestyle changes you can make to keep healthy:

• Eat a balanced diet
• Keep physically active
• Watch your weight
• Stop smoking
• Moderate your alcohol intake
• Manage your stress levels
• Get enough sleep