Can you have normal cholesterol and still have blocked arteries?

Optimal cholesterol levels don’t always translate to perfect heart health, based on a recent study that found half of healthy patients with normal cholesterol levels have dangerous plaque build-up in their arteries.

Is cholesterol a risk factor for heart disease?

Your body needs cholesterol to build healthy cells, but high levels of cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease. With high cholesterol, you can develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits grow, making it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries.

Can you have heart disease with normal blood pressure and cholesterol?

Up to 25 per cent of people who experience an acute cardiac event such as a heart attack have none of the traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease. That’s right – they have never smoked, their blood pressure is normal and they do not have elevated cholesterol levels in their blood stream.

Can you have a heart attack even if your healthy?

When someone as fit as Bob Harper, personal trainer and host of “The Biggest Loser,” has a heart attack, it’s a wake-up call for everyone. You can live an extremely healthy lifestyle and still have a heart attack.

Does lower cholesterol prevent heart attacks?

Therefore, it is important to find out what your cholesterol numbers are. Lowering cholesterol levels that are too high lessens the risk for developing heart disease and reduces the chance of a heart attack or dying of heart disease, even if you already have it.

Can you have atherosclerosis with normal cholesterol?

Citation: Normal LDL-Cholesterol Levels Are Associated With Subclinical Atherosclerosis in the Absence of Risk Factors.

Which cholesterol is bad for heart?

LDL (low-density lipoprotein), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, makes up most of your body’s cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol raise your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Can you have heart disease with good cholesterol?

HDL (high-density lipoprotein), or “good” cholesterol, carries cholesterol back to the liver. The liver then flushes it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Can heart attack occur with normal blood pressure?

Blood pressure is not an accurate predictor of a heart attack. Sometimes a heart attack can cause an increase or decrease in blood pressure, but having a change in blood pressure reading doesn’t always mean it’s heart-related. Instead, a better strategy for gauging a heart attack is to look at your overall symptoms.

Why do silent heart attacks happen?

A silent heart attack happens when the flow of blood is blocked in the coronary arteries by a build up of plaque.

How does HDL lower risk of heart disease?

HDL has been thought to lower cardiovascular risk by cleansing the bloodstream of “bad” cholesterol and scrubbing the inner walls of blood vessels, so your levels of HDL were thought to predict your risk of heart attack or stroke.

Are all heart attacks caused by high cholesterol?

Maybe not, say researchers at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. After studying more than 1,000 people who’d had heart attacks, the researchers concluded that most major heart attacks occur in people with normal cholesterol levels.

What is the optimal total cholesterol level for a heart attack?

A I understand your confusion, considering how doctors have long focused on the importance of having an optimal total cholesterol level (less than 200 milligrams per deciliter or mg/dL) as a way to lower the chance of having a heart attack. It’s actually the harmful LDL cholesterol value that’s most important in terms of this risk.

Can you have normal cholesterol and have heart disease?

Even People With Normal Cholesterol Get Heart Disease. Researchers say nearly half of the patients they studied who underwent heart bypass surgery had cholesterol levels considered normal (under 200). “Some of the patients who needed bypass surgery had cholesterol levels below 100,” researcher Fred Kummerow, PhD, tells WebMD.

Is a total cholesterol level of 155 dangerous?

However, a person with a total cholesterol level of 155 mg/dL probably has an LDL level under 100 mg/dL, which is currently considered a reasonable target for avoiding heart disease. Subscribe to Harvard Health Online for immediate access to health news and information from Harvard Medical School.