Familial Hypercholesterolemia Explained

FAMILIAL HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA

Familial Hypercholesterolemia is a condition where you have a disorder inherited from your parents that cause you have a high cholesterol level, therefore it increases you chance of having the heart attack in early ages. Usually a man can get heart attack when they are 40 to 55 years old and 50 to 65 years old for woman. but if you got Familial Hypercholesterolemia, you can get heart attack even when you are still in your mid twenties.

CAUSES OF FAMILIAL HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA

Receptor). You got two genes that making the LDL Receptor, and they were being inherited from your parents, one from your father and the other one from your mother. If one of the genes you inherited is not working properly or in worst case it is not working at all, which mean that it cannot dissolves cholesterol as much as it should be, then the amount of excess cholesterol stored in the bloodstream will be increased at lot more than normal as well. This will resulting that your have a lot of chances to get a heart attack in an early age.

HOW YOU GOT INHERITED

If your father or your mother inherits Familial Hypercholesterolemia, there is a 50 percent chance that you are going to inherit Familial Hypercholesterolemia too, then you should be checked by your doctor as early as since your two years old. However if your cholesterol level is normal at birth then you will never develop Familial Hypercholesterolemia in your life and you will never pass it to your children either.

High Cholesterol Level

Cholesterol is needed by our body to produce vitamin D, to produce many hormones and to digest fat. However we don't need too much cholesterol in our bloodstream in order to make those production function normally.

The problem with high cholesterol arise went we have too many unused cholesterol in our bloodstream. The excess cholesterol will be left unused in the blood vessel and will be contributed to the narrowing and blocking the bloodstream.

CAUSE OF HIGH CHOLESTEROL

>	Family History
	Your chances of having high cholesterol increase if you have a family history of high cholesterol. The most common type of this high cholesterol is called Familial hypercholesterolemia.
>	Overweight
	If you are overweight or you eat too much fat, it will certainly increase your cholesterol level. One irony of life is that the more tastier the food, the more likely it contain more fat.
>	Age and Gender
	When we are still a baby, our blood vessel is like a highway for the bloodstream to flow. As we grow older, our cholesterol level is increasing depending on our lifestyle.
	Women before menopause, will tend to have a lower cholesterol level than men with the same age. However women after menopause, will tend to have higher cholesterol level than men.
>	Mental Stress
	In some cases, when you stress mentally, your chance to have a high cholesterol level increase. This is due to the stress affecting habits, that stress people will likely to eat fatty foods.

HIGH CHOLESTEROL SYMPTOM

It would have been nice to know the high cholesterol symptom, so that you will know when your cholesterol level is start increasing for too much. Unfortunately there is no symptom at all that can alert you in any state. The only prevention step that you need to take is to have a blood test.

HDL Cholesterol Level. LDL Cholesterol Level, Triglyceride level

HDL Cholesterol Level

HDL Cholesterol is the good cholesterol, so the higher the HDL cholesterol level the better. If your HDL Cholesterol level is below 40mg/dl (for men) or below 50mg/dl (for women), then you are in the risk of having a heart attack. In average the HDL cholesterol level should be around 40-50mg/dl (for men) or 50-60 mg/dl (for women). If your HDL cholesterol level is above 60mg/dl, you have some protection against heart attack.

LDL Cholesterol Level

LDL Cholesterol is the bad cholesterol, so the lower the LDL cholesterol level the better. Generally, LDL Cholesterol level devided into these category:

LDL Cholesterol Level
Less than 100 mg/dL	Healthy Cholesterol Level
100 to 129 mg/dL	Normal Cholesterol Level
130 to 159 mg/dL	Borderline Cholesterol Level
160 to 189 mg/dL	High Cholesterol Level
190 mg/dL and above	Very High Cholesterol Level

However, the real risk of heart attack or stroke also depend on your other risks. A healthy LDL cholesterol level for you might not be healthy for anyone else.

Triglyceride level

Triglyceride is basically a form of fat since it has a very low density protein. if you have a high level of total cholesterol level, high LDL cholesterol level and low HDL cholesterol level, it will be a certainty that you have a high level of triglyceride level as well.

Triglyceride level
less than 150 mg/dL	Healthy Triglyceride Level
150–199 mg/dL	Borderline Triglyceride Level
200–499 mg/dL	High Triglyceride Level
500 mg/dL and above	Very High Triglyceride Level

Cholesterol Level

CHOLESTEROL LEVEL

What is a good cholesterol Level ? How do you know if your cholesterol level is a normal cholesterol level, a healthy cholesterol level or even a high cholesterol level.

Your cholesterol level is shown in millimoles per liter of blood (mmol/L) in the world standard or in milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL) in the US standard.

The only way to know your cholesterol level is by having a blood test.

NORMAL CHOLESTEROL LEVEL

You are considered to have a healthy cholesterol level if you have a total blood cholesterol level below 200mg/dl or 5 mmol/L, in condition that your LDL cholesterol level, HDL cholesterol level and triglyceride level also at healthy level, and you don't have other risks (eg. smoking or have a family history of heart disease or diabetes).

However if you do smoke and have family history of heart disease, the Joint British Societies (a group of the main UK expert societies involved in cardiovascular disease) recommend the good cholesterol level is to have the total cholesterol to be less than 4.0mmol/L

BORDERLINE HIGH CHOLESTEROL LEVEL

You are in borderline high cholesterol level if you have a total blood cholesterol level between 200 - 239 mg/dL (5 - 6.21 mmol/L). if your cholesterol level is in this category, does not mean that you in the risk of heart attack. it is possible to be in this category with your LDL cholesterol level desirable and your HDL cholesterol level high.

What is important if you are in this category is that you need to work with your doctor to evaluate the LDL cholesterol level, HDL cholesterol level and triglyceride level, monitoring them and create a prevention and treatment plan that works for you (eg, lifestyle changing, dietary, or medication), to bring the level to normal cholesterol level.

HIGH CHOLESTEROL LEVEL

If you have your cholesterol level of 240 mg/dl (6.21 mmol/L) or more, you are in the high cholesterol level category which also can put you into twice the risk of getting heart attack than those of people who have their cholesterol level normal.

You must act fast in this category, stop smoking, change to a healthy dietary, exercise at least 30 min a day, and the most important things is to work closely together with your doctor to create a prevention and treatment plan that works best and fast for you.

Cholesterol, LDL Cholesterol, HDL Cholesterol & Triglycerides

CHOLESTEROL

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that can be found in your bloodstream and in all your body cells. Around 75 percent of blood cholesterol is produce by your liver and other cells in your body. The rest 25 percent blood cholesterol is produced by the food that you eats.

LDL CHOLESTEROL

Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDLs) or LDL Cholesterol is called Low-Density because it has low amount protein and a lot of fat in its molecule. LDs molecule take cholesterol to where it is needed in the body. Excess LDs that are not used by the body can build up fatty deposits in blood vessels, leading to heart disease. This is why LDLs are known as 'Bad Cholesterol'.

HDL CHOLESTEROL

High-Density Lipoproteins (HDLs) or HDL Cholesterol is called High-Density because it has a high amount protein and low amount of fat in its molecule. HDs molecule take excessive colesterol in your bloodstream to your liver where it is broken down so the body can get rid of it. That is why HDLs are known as 'Good Cholesterol'.

TRIGLYCERIDES

Tryglycerides are carried in your blood as Very Low-Density Lipoprotein (VLDL). it's called Very Low Density because most of its molecule contain of Fat almost none of protein. A high tryglyceride level increase the risk of heart disease, although not as much as high cholesterol

TYPES OF FATS

Fat is eaten in three main forms:

* Saturated Fats - Usually from animal product such as dairy products, meats, eggs, poultry, butter and also some oils
* Polyunsaturated Fats - e.g. in some margarines and vegetable oils, some nuts and fish oils
* Monounsaturated Fats - Usually from plants, including some nuts and avocado

Saturated Fats tend to increase you blood cholesterol level. Some unsaturated fats lower the cholesterol level if they are used to replace saturated fats.