Cholesterol! For most of us, this is a 1980s concept that received little or no attention in the years prior to those years.

Today, knowing the good and bad cholesterol rates in your blood is crucial to help prevent cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarctions and strokes (cerebrovascular accidents), for example.

Sometime a family problem

Moreover, some families are experiencing hypercholesterolemia, which is transmitted by genes and have serious medical complications, even fatal at a young age. It is therefore important for these people to be tested.

No longer need to be fasting

The screening is done by a blood test and the good news is that it is not necessary to be fasting before it is done.

A medical meeting

A discussion with a health care professional is essential once the results have been obtained, in order to establish the appropriate treatment in case of an abnormal result.

During this meeting, the risks related to a high cholesterol level in the blood are exposed as a preventive measure.

This dialogue also focuses on changing lifestyle habits such as smoking, low exercise, excess weight and diet. The appointment also makes it possible to carry out a control of the blood pressure and to speak of diabetes, if necessary.

Medication as a last resort

If non-pharmaceutical methods such as diet, weight loss for some, and exercise do not have the expected effects on bad cholesterol (LDL) levels, the health professional will prescribe the appropriate medication.

Obviously, no one likes to take medication, but some situations require that a correction be made to avoid any medical event that may have serious consequences.

And how about natural products

Do you prefer trusting natural products? 

Know that their cost is not negligible and that in return you have no documented guarantee that they will be effective for the reduction of bad cholesterol.

Consult your doctor or pharmacist for their actual therapeutic effects.

Now let's talk about possibe side effects

All drugs have multiple side effects. If you seem to be a victim of these, inform your pharmacist of your inconvenience; he or she is easily accessible and can advise you.

A good way to make sure the symptoms are really side effects is to stop this new cholesterol medication. If the symptoms persist, there isn’t any relation between them. In case all the symptoms have resolved when the medication is stopped, we can check if they return when the medication is started again. The reappearance of the symptoms confirms that the side effects are caused by the therapy.

In conclusion

Screening for high cholesterol is very important, given the negative effects of bad cholesterol on cardiovascular health.

The results of your blood test will be transmitted to you and the recommendations associated with them will be discussed with your doctor.

These results should not be taken lightly.

Prevention is easier done than treating. By being more cautious, it is not only the bad cholesterol level that improves, but several other elements of one’s lifestyle.

Don't miss: Cholesterol screening - Medical point of view