Why are we afraid of cholesterol? Because it is one of the predisposing factors that increase the possibility of coronary heart disease, the modern scourge of the 20th century.
What is coronary artery disease?
It is a group of clinical conditions that includes angina, unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction and sudden death. All four conditions have atherosclerosis as an underlying anatomical cause.
What is atherosclerosis?
Under the influence of predisposing factors, dysfunction of the endothelium of the coronary arteries occurs. Subsequently, cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol, enters the vessel wall and attracts monocytes, which also take up cholesterol. This is how the atheromatous plaque is formed.
What are the predisposing factors of coronary artery disease?
Coronary artery disease is quite often found in people who have one or more predisposing factors such as:
- Age (men >45 years, women >55 years)
- Heredity (occurrence of coronary artery disease in a father or brother under the age of 55, in a mother or sister under the age of 65)
- Hypercholesterolemia (LDL-”bad”-cholesterol above 130mg/dl or low HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) below 40mg/dl.
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure (above 140/90 mmHg)
- Smoking
