Getting your cholesterol levels checked by a doctor is the first step to understanding your risk of heart disease.
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How to lower cholesterol and heart disease risk Pregnancy can also cause total cholesterol levels to rise, but levels typically return to normal after pregnancy. In addition, pregnancy can increase a woman’s risk of heart disease, especially certain complications during pregnancy such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.
For this reason, even women who had good cholesterol values during most of their lives may have high cholesterol later in life. When women undergo menopause around ages 50 to 55, many experience a change in their cholesterol levels.Īt menopause, total and LDL cholesterol levels tend to rise and HDL cholesterol tends to fall. On the other hand, LDL and total cholesterol levels decline as estrogen levels rise, reaching a low just before menstruation. Women generally have higher levels of HDL cholesterol than men, due to a female sex hormone known as estrogen.Īccording to the National Institutes of Health, research also suggests that cholesterol levels in women vary depending on the phase of the menstrual cycle, due to changes in estrogen levels.Īs estrogen levels rise, HDL cholesterol also rises, peaking at the time of ovulation. How does cholesterol affect women differently than men? In general, higher cholesterol levels - particularly LDL levels - means you have a higher chance of having a heart attack or stroke during the course of your lifetime.
This is called atherosclerosis and is considered one type of heart disease. Plaque can narrow and harden your arteries and limit blood flow. Over time, the buildup of LDL within your blood vessels can turn into a substance known as plaque. But if HDL levels are too low, there won’t be enough of it to help remove the buildup of LDL cholesterol from your blood vessels. HDL cholesterol helps remove cholesterol from your bloodstream. If you have too much LDL cholesterol in your blood, it can accumulate inside the walls of blood vessels. People who have an LDL cholesterol level that’s higher than normal and an HDL cholesterol level that’s too low may be at a higher risk of heart disease. Having a high level of cholesterol is known as hypercholesterolemia, or dyslipidemia. How does high cholesterol contribute to heart disease in women?
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