Cholesterol: Good, bad and ugly?

 WELLNEWS

Victor Dumaguing

All of the above; from a clinical perspective, indeed cholesterol could be good, bad and yes, really ugly. Incidentally, this column is not a spin-off of the cowboy-movie which was a blockbuster hit during the 70s.
    At this juncture, this article is our modest and sincere desire to share with our dear reader basic simple data in understanding and controlling cholesterol, some details were culled from a booklet of the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association (ASA)
    Keeping cholesterol levels under control is important for everyone; that means men and women, formed, younger and older folks, people of all ages, with or without heart disease.
    Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like substance found in the bloodstream and in all of the approximately 75 trillion cells of the adult human body. It must be emphasized and stressed that 2/3 of the cholesterol in the body is synthesized, manufactured and formed by the liver.
    The structural and functional integrity of the membranes or walls or borders of cells is maintained by cholesterol. Cholesterol is an important component in the synthesis of sex hormones and steroid hormones. Estrogen is the primary female hormone responsible for development of female sexual characteristics like ovary, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina as well as breast; and on the aesthetic side, lustrous shiny hair as well as clear dewy skin.
    Progesterone is the secondary female hormone which has a quieting effect of the pregnant uterus allowing for a full-term delivery of the baby within 38-42 weeks. Testosterone is the male hormone which is responsible for the spurt of growth of boys into young men during adolescence with obvious increase in height as well as in their reproductive organs, with embarrassing cracking of voice due to enlargement and thickening of the vocal cords. Cholesterol is also needed in the formation of hormones from the adrenal glands particularly its cortex; cortisol which is a stress hormone and aldosterone which helps regulate sodium and potassium levels in the blood.
    The bad side of cholesterol occurs when the person consumes food as well as drinks which exceed the supposed just 1/3 dietary source of cholesterol; the major source of which are meats of animals like beef, lamb and pork.
    Atherosclerosis is the deposition of layers of cholesterol on the inner lining of blood vessels; sometimes called arteriosclerosis referring mostly to the involvement of arteries, which together with the much smaller capillaries are responsible for carrying oxygen and nutrients to the cells of the body. If the situation is not controlled, the deposited cholesterol would eventually evolve from its soft slimy consistency into a semi-gel and finally into a solid hard plaque which now significantly decrease the luminal diameter of the blood vessel thus there would now be physical obstruction to the flow of blood.
    The word “ischemia” refers to a significant progressive diminution of blood flow to a vital organ. The word “infarction” is a worse situation in which there is an acute or abrupt stoppage of life-saving oxygen because the plaque would have already completely blocked the blood vessel.
    Then, the ugly aspect of cholesterol would manifest itself clinically. In the heart, the condition is called CAD or coronary heart disease (coronary arteries are the blood supply of the heart); in the brain, it is called CVA or cerebrovascular accident/apoplexy in the form of cerebral; and in the kidneys-organ which receive 20% or 1/5 of total blood volume (5 liters), there would already signs and symptoms of renal thrombosis
    It’s easy to have high cholesterol and not know it because initially there may be no symptoms that the person can see or feel, that’s why it’s important to have it measured. As per advice of both AHA and ASA, if you are 20 or older, have cholesterol measured at least every five years. However if other factors put you at higher risks like family history, lifestyle habits (couch potato) and vices like alcohol and smoking on top of a stressful domestic and work environment, then the interval may be shorter.
    A blood test called “lipoprotein profile” measures cholesterol in milligrams per deciliter of blood(mg/dL) Even if you do not have a lipoprotein profile, you should know your total cholesterol, LDL(bad cholesterol) and HDL(good cholesterol)
    Please be reminded that different laboratories may show their results in mg/dL, other labs in millimoles which is standard practice using the SI or System Internacional. Fortunately, with every result, there is a range of normal values for each test, with some lab even putting the letter H for elevated/high. And for a better more accurate lab test results, please consult
    Your family physician what preparation to undertake like fasting for how many hours and the best time to be in the lab for blood extraction.
    Next Week: Interpretation of Cholesterol results