High cholesterol usually do not show any symptoms of itself even when a person does have high cholesterol. Rather, high cholesterol levels are often found out through regular medical checkups with our doctors through the blood test. The next best possible way for one to have a hunch that he is having high cholesterol is when health problems such as heart diseases or stroke begin to surface.

Coronary Heart Disease
Chest pain, or medically known as Angina, is the primary symptom associated with coronary heart disease which a patient may suffer due to high cholesterol. Angina is very much felt by the person suffering from it. It can be described like a pressing on the chest, or a tight squeeze around the chest. It is as if another person is sitting on your chest, causing it to be pressurized. Though the initial and most frequent part of the body that would be affected is the pressure feeling on the chest, these symptoms can actually spread to other parts of the body; the jaw, neck and even your arms. In certain cases, patients feel pressure in some other parts of their body but not their chest.

Besides feeling pain in the chest, people suffering from coronary heart disease may also exhibit signs of shortness of breath, feeling nausea, experience huge amount of sweating and lightheadedness. Chest pains should not be taken lightly as it is most likely to be directly related to coronary heart disease. Victims to coronary heart disease should avoid having a large meal or be too overly excited as they can turn out to become fatal. Rather, when you are experiencing chest pains, you should stop whatever you are doing and have a short rest. If these symptoms are continuous, it would be best to pay your doctor a visit.

Stroke
High cholesterol often causes arteriosclerosis, where a plague clogs up an artery like a drain and prevents blood from flowing freely through the arteries. In the worst case scenario, the plague in these arteries hardens and opposes blood flow, causing blood to clot at the point where it is being obstructed from flowing. In such a scenario, there is a possibility that the artery will burst, resulting in a stroke.

There is almost no warning to when a stroke is going to occur but it often happens after dizziness is felt, or there is sudden confusion where there is a difficulty in speech and understanding. When a stroke happens, it is highly likely a person would lose function in a part of their body, or even be paralyzed for life.

Heart disease is among the top killers in many countries, especially in the United States, where it is a known fact that it is the top killer for both men and women. Almost 500,000 Americans pass on due to heart diseases and many more suffer heart attacks every year. Scientifically, doctors have agreed on a consensus, the higher a person’s cholesterol level, the higher their level of heart disease.

Tags: high cholesterol symptoms, cholesterol, angina