Do you have high cholesterol? Stop heart disease before it has the chance to start with our Lipid Clinic.
High cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease. Cholesterol and triglycerides are lipids, which is another word for “fats”. Lipids contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but have far less oxygen proportionally than carbohydrates.
Fats give your body energy and support cell growth. They also help protect your organs, help keep your body warm, help it absorb some nutrients and produce important hormones. Your body definitely needs fat – but not as much as most people eat.
Fats can have different effects on the cholesterol levels in your body. Bad fats, saturated fats and trans fats increase bad cholesterol ( LDL) levels in your blood. This can lead to the development of heart disease and / or atherosclerosis (“hardening of the arteries”).
Many people are able to control their cholesterol levels through nutrition and exercise, or with medications. But these methods don’t work for everyone. The Evaluation and Prevention Center offers a Lipid Clinic for people who:
- fail to achieve their cholesterol and triglyceride targets;
- experience side effects from lipid medications;
- have genetic blood lipid abnormalities (dyslipidemia);
- have a strong family history of premature coronary heart disease;
- have progressive atherosclerosis or recurrent coronary events, despite achieving lipid targets;
- are at high risk for coronary events, but in whom lipid-altering therapy may cause adverse drug interactions.
For more information on our Lipid Clinic, or to make an appointment, please call 216.844.3800.