An increase in total cholesterol in our blood can be due to genetic reasons (such as familial hypercholesterolemia), hypothyroidism, liver disease, various disorders that cause bile stasis, nephrotic syndrome, alcoholism, diabetes mellitus and taking medications such as corticosteroids and contraceptives. In its early stages, hypercholesterolemia is an almost asymptomatic condition, that is, it does not involve true manifestations indicating its presence.
The only exception is represented by homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia because in this case, certain deposits of cholesterol in the skin, tendons and also around the cornea of the eye are observed from early childhood, as well as the presence of lipid plaques.
But what are the symptoms of high cholesterol? Hypercholesterolemia in itself does not cause any symptoms in the patient, with the exception of a few rare cases of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia mentioned above, but among the most alarming symptoms of these diseases are:
– chest pain with a strong feeling of tightness and constriction (as if a rock weighed heavily on the chest or as if it were gripped by a vice), especially during periods of high psychophysical stress;
frequent contractions or cramps during a walk;
– mental confusion;
– headache.
In a distant study conducted in 1953, on the corpses of young American soldiers who died during the Korean War, William F. Enos and his professional collaborators found that despite these soldiers they did not show any symptoms of cardiovascular disease:
35% of the sample still showed visible but insignificant narrowing of one or more coronary vessels;
-39% had stenosis (i.e. narrowing due to thickening of the atherosclerotic plaque) between 10 and 90%;
-and 3% rather presented a complete stenosis of one or more coronary vessels.
Only 23% of these soldiers had macroscopically normal coronary arteries.
From the year 1953, many other studies carried out subsequently confirmed how the atherosclerotic process already begins in pediatric age and how its appearance and evolution are related to cholesterol values: the higher these are, the more the risk is great. Curiosity: the high levels of cholesterol present in the blood must be treated by a balanced diet (avoiding in particular fatty meats, offal and eggs); abstaining from smoking; with regular physical exercise and with drugs that suppress cholesterol synthesis or interfere with cholesterol absorption from the entire gastrointestinal tract.
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