Hyperlipidemia Specialists

What is hyperlipidemia?

Hyperlipidemia refers to high levels of lipids, or fats, in your blood, primarily cholesterol and triglycerides. Hyperlipidemia can be inherited or caused by an underlying health condition, but it’s frequently due to an unhealthy diet and being overweight.

What are triglycerides?

When you consume more calories than you need for energy, the excess calories are converted into fats called triglycerides. Triglycerides constantly circulate in your bloodstream and when levels get too high, they can cause an inflamed pancreas. High triglycerides also increase the risk for heart disease because high triglycerides are associated with low levels of good cholesterol.

What is good and bad cholesterol?

Cholesterol fills such vital roles that your body produces about 80% of the cholesterol it needs. The remaining 20% comes from dietary sources such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, and eggs.

Fats travel through your bloodstream in packages called lipoproteins, which consist of cholesterol and triglycerides wrapped up in proteins. The proportion of cholesterol to protein creates different types of lipoproteins – high-density lipoproteins and low-density lipoproteins.

High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are known as good cholesterol because they collect cholesterol and eliminate it from the body. Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) are the bad type of cholesterol because they stay in the bloodstream, carrying cholesterol to cells throughout the body.

When blood levels of bad cholesterol get too high, it sticks to blood vessel walls. Over time, excess cholesterol accumulates and develops into atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. As a result, blood flow is blocked, which raises the risk of blood clots, heart disease, and stroke.

How is high cholesterol treated?

Treatment for high cholesterol begins with making changes to your diet and losing weight, if needed. But when cholesterol stays too high, Dr. Boulware may recommend one of several types of medications, depending on your age, current health, and potential side effects.

Some of the medications commonly used for high cholesterol include:

• Statins: Blocks a substance the body needs to produce cholesterol, so more cholesterol is taken out of the bloodstream to be used for vital jobs. Statins may help your body reabsorb cholesterol that’s stuck on artery walls.
• Cholesterol absorption inhibitors: Blocks dietary cholesterol from being absorbed into the bloodstream.
• Bile-acid binding resins: Bile acid is made from cholesterol, so this medication lowers cholesterol by getting the body to take cholesterol from the bloodstream for bile production.