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High cholesterol is when you have too much of a fatty substance called cholesterol in your blood.
High cholesterol is mainly caused by eating fatty food, not exercising enough, being overweight, smoking and drinking alcohol. It can also run in families.
High cholesterol does not cause symptoms. You can only find out if you have it from a blood test.
Too much cholesterol can block your blood vessels. It makes you more likely to have heart problems or a stroke.
You can lower your cholesterol by eating healthily and getting more exercise. Some people also need to take medicine.
Eat less fatty food
To reduce your cholesterol, try to cut down on fatty food, especially food that contains a type of fat called saturated fat. You can still have foods that contain a healthier type of fat called unsaturated fat.
Try to eat more:
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Try to eat less:
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Exercise more
Aim to do at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of exercise a week.
Stop smoking
Smoking can raise your cholesterol and make you more likely to have serious problems like heart attacks, strokes and cancer. If you want to stop smoking, you can get help and support from your doctor.
Cut down on alcohol
You might need medicine to lower your cholesterol if your cholesterol level has not gone down after changing your diet and lifestyle or if you're at a high risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Statins
Statins are the most common medicine for high cholesterol. They reduce the amount of cholesterol your body makes. You take a tablet once a day. You usually need to take them for life.
Other medicines for high cholesterol
Other medicines may be used if statins do not work or you do not want to take statins. Such as ezetimibe, fibrates, bile acid sequestrants (also called resins) and bempedoic acid. You might also get injections – such as alirocumab and evolocumab.
Source: NHSinform