High cholesterol is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke — but luckily it’s something you can control. At Priority Health MD in Cooper City, Florida, internal medicine physician Roberto Fernandez-Blay, MD, can help diagnose high cholesterol and prescribe effective treatments to lower your numbers and prevent serious health problems. To find out if you need treatment for high cholesterol, call the office or schedule an appointment online today.
What is high cholesterol?
High cholesterol occurs when your total blood cholesterol level is above 200. While your body produces cholesterol, you also get it from the foods you eat, such as eggs, dairy products, and some meats.
However, when you have diabetes, your cells don’t get the fuel they need. The sugar stays in your blood, leading to high levels that can endanger your health and life.
Excessive cholesterol accumulates in your artery walls, creating plaque buildup. Eventually, the buildup can narrow or cut off blood supply to your heart or brain, leading to:
Ultimately, high cholesterol could lead to heart attack, stroke, or other serious consequences. However, you can control your cholesterol level and avoid those things.
What causes high cholesterol?
High cholesterol can run in families, but in most cases, it happens due to poor health choices. Eating fatty foods, lack of exercise, smoking, extra weight, and excessive alcohol consumption can all lead to high cholesterol.
There are also other lesser-known causes of high cholesterol. For example, many women experience rising cholesterol levels during menopause due to the drop in estrogen hormones. Similarly, men who experience low testosterone often have high cholesterol.
How can I improve high cholesterol?
Priority Health MD takes a whole-person approach to high cholesterol and other chronic health issues. Using integrative medicine principles, you start from the source of your high cholesterol and correct the issues that cause it.
Your treatment plan may involve weight loss, exercise, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), supplements to correct nutritional deficiencies, and other natural measures that can lower your cholesterol and improve your wellness at the same time.
Priority Health MD is more than a standard primary care practice because the providers are here to help you achieve the best health and wellness possible. Your journey to a healthy cholesterol level may take some time, but you can get there using natural approaches in most cases.
It’s rare for patients to need cholesterol-lowering drugs, however, if you try natural approaches and they’re not effective on their own, you can take medication to help.
Lowering your cholesterol can also help you manage other health problems, including diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension).
To find out the best solution to your high cholesterol, call Priority Health MD or schedule an appointment online today.
