Why Your Heart Wants You to Pay Attention to Your Cholesterol

Cholesterol can be a tricky thing to understand, especially when you're not exactly sure what your levels mean and how they can affect the various aspects of your body - including your heart.

So, what is cholesterol? What does it have to do with heart disease? Simply put, cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in your blood. It is essential to certain cell functions in your body, such as digesting foods, producing hormones, converting vitamin D in the skin and creating new cells. Your liver makes cholesterol for your body, but you also get cholesterol from eating certain foods, such as meat, poultry and full-fat dairy. Cholesterol travels through the bloodstream in "packages" called lipoproteins. There are two kinds:

  • Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), also known as "bad" cholesterol, join with other substances to form a thick, hard deposit, called plaque on the walls of your arteries.
  • High-density lipoproteins (HDLs), also known as "good" cholesterol, remove cholesterol from the bloodstream and the artery walls.

If the total amount of cholesterol in your blood is too high, more plaque builds up over time, eventually limiting the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your heart. This can cause coronary heart disease (CHD) to develop, which can lead to even more serious health issues, like blood clots, heart attack or a stroke.

Most of the time, you can control your cholesterol levels through a healthy diet and lifestyle, which will lower your risk of cardiovascular health issues. For a small percentage of people, however, high cholesterol is sometimes caused by genetically inherited cholesterol-related disorders that cannot be controlled with diet or other lifestyle changes. That's why it's so important to know your numbers and monitor them on an ongoing basis.

Talk to your doctor about what HDL and LDL levels are healthy, and what can be done to lower risks. Routine blood tests can show your cholesterol levels. To learn about what other factors may be affecting your risk for cardiovascular disease, take our free heart health assessment.

Start My Assessment!
Mobile Header

Why Choose Us?

Medical Associates of Navarro County's cardiac care team provides a range of heart care services. Whether you want to pursue a heart-healthy lifestyle or need a potentially life-saving procedure, we're here to help. We provide preventive services and treatment for heart conditions from hypertension to cardiovascular disease.

The physicians are proud to be affiliated with Navarro Regional Hospital. From prevention to diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, the care team at Navarro Regional Hospital provides a variety of services. Notable highlights include:

  • Accredited Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission, American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association
  • Accredited by the Joint Commission in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine and ultrasound
  • Dedicated chest pain/stroke coordinator
  • Dedicated, experienced interventional cardiologist, board certified in cardiology, internal medicine and interventional cardiology
  • Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval® Hospital

Our Services Include:

  • Cardiac catheterization, including radial artery catheterization
  • Cardiac rehabilitation
  • Coronary artery interventions that include balloon angioplasty and stent placement for blocked arteries
  • Diagnostic and imaging technology to find heart disease early, when it's most treatable
  • Implantable cardiac monitoring
  • Implantable pacemakers
  • Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) management
  • Peripheral vascular interventions
  • TEE (trans-esophageal echocardiogram)
  • Heart attack (STEMI) emergency intervention
  • Peripheral angiography and intervention with stenting
  • Peripheral atherectomy
  • Radial/groin/pedal-access procedures
  • Intra-aortic balloon pump insertion
  • FFR/IVUS testing
  • Central venous intervention procedures
  • Varicose vein treatment and ablation procedures

Heart Healthy Resources

Heart Healthy Roadmap

A Woman’s Risk for Heart Disease is Different: Here’s What You Need to Know

Heart disease is a big issue in the United States for both men and women alike. But some risk factors are more unique to women.
Read more »

What Do Doctors Have To Say About Your Heart?

Is High Blood Pressure Considered Heart Disease?

Finding out you have high blood pressure can be worrisome if you aren’t sure what your numbers mean or what to do about them. Discover how high blood pressure affects your heart.
Read more »

Healthy Connections

How Does Smoking Affect Your Heart?

Smoking’s impact reaches far beyond your lungs, harming nearly every other organ in the body. Get the specifics on how smoking can influence your heart’s health.
Read more »

Journey to a Healthy Heart

Why Your Heart Wants You to Pay Attention to Your Cholesterol

Your liver makes cholesterol in your body, but you also get cholesterol from eating certain foods. Find out how the wrong kind of cholesterol can impact your heart.
Read more »

Start My Assessment
test