Does High Cholesterol Increase the Heartbeat? Know the Truth

Your heart is central to every other body part and it needs to be in the best of conditions to keep different body parts functioning well. High cholesterol is one issue that can affect your heart and create problems such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and heart attack. All these health problems are heart problems, which can prove to be fatal, which you don’t want. Something needs to be done to control your high cholesterol levels and we will discuss this in detail so read further.

Cholesterol and heart health are interrelated and an increase in your cholesterol levels is good up to a certain extent, and if the cholesterol levels become so high, it is not good for your health. Maybe it will not show any signs earlier but it can prove to be a silent killer. For the unversed who don’t know what cholesterol is, there is no need to worry as we are going to discuss it first before going any further.

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy substance and fat-like substance that is made in the liver and found in the blood and all cells in the body, meaning it is present throughout your body. When we talk about its role in the human body, it is a structural and signaling component of cell membranes. It is required for the production of hormones, bile acid, and vitamin D.

Importance of Maintaining Cholesterol Levels for Heart Health

Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels is necessary for your heart as high cholesterol increases the risk for heart disease such as stroke. This makes it essential to maintain your cholesterol level in line with what is required by your body. As you know high cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, but do you know what the situation is called as high cholesterol? The answer is that when there is too much quantity of cholesterol in the blood, it further leads to the buildup of plaque in the arteries.

The buildup of plaque in the arteries narrows down the passage and later blocks blood flow to the heart and other organs. The decreased supply of blood can sometimes result in stroke which can prove fatal. This clearly shows that cholesterol and heart health are connected. Let’s now understand cholesterol in detail and its types, i.e., LDL (Bad Cholesterol), HDL (Good Cholesterol), and triglycerides.

• LDL or Bad Cholesterol: LDL is an acronym for Low Density Lipoprotein a particle made of lipids (fats) and proteins that transport fat through the blood. LDL particles contain a large amount of cholesterol and a small amount of proteins. The presence of too much LDL cholesterol in the blood builds up in the walls of blood vessels, forming plaque. We know the buildup or plaque with the name of atherosclerosis.

• HDL or Good Cholesterol: HDL or High-Density Lipoprotein is called good cholesterol as it lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke. HDL cholesterol absorbs cholesterol from the blood and carries it to the liver, which then removes it from the body. As it is good cholesterol meaning, its quantity is  good and you can increase it by eating healthy foods such as olives, nuts, avocado, seeds, and fish.
  

• Triglycerides: Triglycerides are a type of fat found in the blood that the body uses for energy. The body converts excess calories into triglycerides, which are stored in fat cells.
  

How Cholesterol Levels are measured?

Before going any further, it is important to know whether your cholesterol levels are increasing, and for that, you need to measure your cholesterol first. To measure cholesterol levels, there is a blood test called a lipid panel or lipoprotein test. In this test, total cholesterol in your blood, including LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol are measured.

What is behind High Cholesterol?

Many reasons are behind high cholesterol and the major ones include eating fatty foods, being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking, not exercising enough, inherited conditions such as familial cholesterolemia (FH), and health conditions like diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, and kidney disease. High cholesterol impacts the cardiovascular system and increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

High Cholesterol Increases Heartbeat

As discussed, high LDL cholesterol blocks the passage of blood in the blood vessels, leads to plaque buildup, and sometimes blocks the arteries. The plaque buildup develops fatty deposits in blood vessels and the deposits further break suddenly to form blood clots and can cause heart attack and stroke.

Some people experience heart failure due to lack of oxygen while some may experience irregular heartbeat. This clearly shows that high cholesterol just increases your heartbeat and creates problems for you.

Symptoms of High Cholesterol and Related Heart Diseases

Now as you know high cholesterol is a dangerous thing and your priority is to know the symptoms of high cholesterol so that it can be controlled in the early stages. Below are some common symptoms that people with high cholesterol may experience.

• Chest Pain, Tightness, Pressure, or Squeezing When Performing any Physical Activity
• Shortness of Breath
• Fatigue
• Irregular Heartbeat
• Dizziness or Fainting

If you experience any or some of these symptoms regularly it may be due to high cholesterol and to confirm, you should get a lipid panel or lipoprotein test. In this test, you will get to know whether your cholesterol levels are growing, and if those are increasing; you can start working in the direction to control the same.

The common problem associated with high cholesterol include Tachycardia, a condition in which your heart rate is faster than normal (around 100 beats per minute) even when you are not performing any physical activity.

Managing Cholesterol Levels to Protect Your Heart

As you know high cholesterol is behind most heart diseases and that’s why something needs to be done. You should start making changes to dietary habits and lifestyle changes. When we talk about the foods you should include in your diet, the same include:

• Fiber-rich foods such as Lentils, Chickpeas, Chia Seeds, Broccoli, Apples, Avocados, Pear, and Oats.
• Foods with Omega-3 Fatty Acids such as Nuts, Fish and Sea Food, Papaya, Kiwi Fruit, Orange.
• Healthy Fats like Oily Fish, Peanuts, Dark Chocolate, Almond, Tofu, Full Fat Dairy.

These are the foods that should be included in your diet but there are some foods that need to be avoided, which include Cakes, Cookies, Frozen Pizzas, Fried Foods, doughnuts, and anything that is considered Trans Fat. Foods that are called Saturated Fats such as Butter, Ghee, Coconut Oil, Sausages, Bacon, Cheese, and Curated Meats like Salami and Pancetta. Apart from that, you should avoid having excessive sugar.

Medications and Supplements that May Help

If it has been detected in the lipid panel or lipoprotein test that the cholesterol levels are high and you want to control and look for medications, you can count on natural cholesterol reducer supplements such as Naturachol. The name says it all the supplement is made up of natural ingredients so you can expect it to cause no harm.

This supplement is recommended by doctors and the best part is that it is available in pill form and you will see a significant reduction in your cholesterol levels within a few months of use.

Conclusion: This is all about cholesterol and the importance of maintaining cholesterol levels. Also, you will get to know about high cholesterol levels and what is the cause behind them. Moreover, we have discussed about symptoms of high cholesterol and more things. So you should give it a reading and provide your feedback in the comments.