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4 H E A LT H Y Y O U Preventive Care Cholesterol Conquer Risk factors for high cholesterol High cholesterol has no symptoms, so many people are at risk for heart disease and don't realize it. Do any of these risk factors apply to you? • Smoking • Overweight • Sedentary lifestyle • High blood pressure (140/90 mmHg or higher, or on blood pressure medicine) • Low HDL (see "Know your numbers" at right) • Age (55+ for women, 45+ for men) • Family history of early heart disease The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing heart disease. However, only about 5 percent of the population has a genetic tendency toward heart disease. That means you have at least some control. You can conquer high cholesterol and dramatically reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke! What is cholesterol? Although it tends to get a bad rap, cholesterol is critical for good heart health. Cholesterol is a naturally occurring, waxy substance produced in the liver. You also consume cholesterol when you eat foods that come from animals, such as meat and dairy products. In the right amount, cholesterol plays an important role in the body. Cholesterol helps your body make hormones (such as estrogen and testosterone), digest fats in your diet and build cell walls, for example. But, when you have too much cholesterol, it can build up and form plaque on your artery walls (atherosclerosis). Atherosclerosis narrows blood vessels, restricting blood f low and causing stress on the heart. Plaque can also break free from artery walls and cause a clot. If the clot blocks blood f low to the heart or brain, you may suffer from a heart attack or stroke. High cholesterol is a controllable risk factor for heart disease, the number one cause of death in the U.S.