October 13, 2008
High cholesterol. You can’t see it, hear it, or feel it. It won’t make you feel sick – in fact you may feel fine. But when your cholesterol sneaks up above a desirable level, it puts you at increased risk for heart attack, heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular disease.
If you are living a high-cholesterol lifestyle, your cholesterol level may be too high now or it may become high in the future, increasing your risk of heart disease. If you buy a lot of prepared, convenience and fast food, if you buy butter and other whole-fat dairy products or if you buy a lot of red meats you could be living a high-cholesterol lifestyle. If you’ve been putting off losing those extra pounds or if you don’t make time to exercise regularly you could be living a high-cholesterol lifestyle. If you eat a lot of fried or breaded food, if you like food with gravy and sauces, you could be living a high-cholesterol lifestyle.
Cholesterol’s most important job is to help carry fat through your blood vessels since fat can’t travel through blood vessels by itself. Usually this transport system works well. But when you eat too much fat and your body has to move it throughout your body, too much cholesterol may accumulate. Serious problems, even heart attacks, can occur.
The first step to controlling cholesterol is to check the level. The Sacred Heart Hospital Foundation will sponsor free non-fasting cholesterol screens at its Health Screening Day, Saturday, October 25 from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the hospital/clinic facility at 401 W. Mohawk Drive. Participants do not need to fast prior to the screen. No need to register. For more information call 715-453-7770.