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Controlling cholesterol is key to good heart health.

Information provided by Carol Shriver, MS, RD, LDN, CDCES

September is National Cholesterol Education Month – a perfect time to increase your knowledge of cholesterol and how it affects your overall heart health.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, with about 500,000 Americans dying from heart disease and another million having heart attacks each year. High cholesterol is a major risk factor contributing to cardiovascular disease. Now’s a great time to take steps to lower your cholesterol level and improve your heart health.

Steps to a Healthy Heart

  1. Know your numbers and what they mean.
  2. Knowing your LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, often called “bad” cholesterol, is essential to your well-being. By learning what affects your LDL cholesterol, you can help manage it.
  3. Know the two types of cholesterol:
  4. Low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol.
  5. Also known as “bad” or “lousy” cholesterol, LDL cholesterol makes up most of your body’s cholesterol.
  6. We want this level to be lower.
  7. High levels of LDL cholesterol cause plaque to build up in your blood vessels, which blocks or slows the flow of blood to your heart and increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.
  8. High-density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol.
  9. It’s sometimes referred to as “good” or “healthy” cholesterol.
  10. We want this level to be higher.
  11. HDL cholesterol lowers your risk of heart disease and stroke by absorbing the body’s cholesterol, transporting it to the liver and then excreting it from your body.

Information supplied by the American Heart Association.

Everyone can benefit from knowing their cholesterol numbers and doing what they can to prevent or reduce high cholesterol levels. Making a few small changes can do a lot to protect your heart. 

Helpful Cholesterol Links

To learn even more about cholesterol, visit these links from our partners: