High cholesterol can silently damage blood vessels and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, even in people who feel healthy, health experts have warned, urging Nigerians to take screening and treatment seriously.
The experts explained that excess low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, commonly called LDL or “bad” cholesterol, can accumulate in artery walls, forming fatty deposits that narrow the vessels and restrict blood flow to vital organs.
Symptoms
They noted that because high cholesterol often has no obvious symptoms, many people may remain unaware of the condition until it affects the blood vessels over time, leading to a heart attack or stroke.
According to the World Health Organisation, excess LDL cholesterol can accumulate in artery walls, forming fatty deposits that narrow the vessels and restrict blood flow. If these deposits rupture and a blood clot forms, the blockage can trigger a heart attack or stroke. The condition can also contribute to peripheral arterial disease, which reduces blood supply to the limbs.
In Nigeria, a 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal Public Health estimated a pooled crude prevalence of high cholesterol of 38 per cent across 13 studies involving 16,981 participants.
The researchers also estimated that the number of Nigerians aged 20 and above affected by the condition increased from 8.2 million in 1995 to 21.9 million in 2015.
PUNCH Healthwise had earlier reported the rising incidence of stroke among young people, identifying high cholesterol as one of the risk factors associated with the condition.
Conditions
In an exclusive interview, a Public Health Physician and Director of Medical Services at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, Dr Rotimi Adesanya, said high cholesterol could contribute to several cardiovascular conditions, including coronary heart disease and ischaemic heart disease.
“High cholesterol can trigger many medical conditions or can contribute to medical conditions such as what we call or what we call coronary heart disease,” he said.
The physician explained that atherosclerosis involved the build-up of fatty deposits in blood vessels, which could interfere with the supply of blood to vital organs.
Adesanya added that the consequences could extend beyond the heart, depending on which blood vessels were affected.
“If the cholesterol happens to block the blood vessels through what we call plaque, so it will deny the brain of having blood supply and that one will lead to stroke,” he added.
The physician stressed that the absence of symptoms was one reason people might not realise they had high cholesterol.
“The person does not have symptoms in most cases. The person will not have any symptoms or any of your signs. It’s by doing the laboratory test, which we call the lipid profile, that the health worker or the doctor will get to know that this person has high cholesterol,” Adesanya explained.
He noted that healthcare professionals might request cholesterol testing for people with conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes because they may have additional cardiovascular risk factors.
On management, Adesanya advised people diagnosed with high cholesterol to follow medical advice, including taking prescribed medication and attending follow-up appointments for monitoring.
He said statins could be prescribed to lower cholesterol levels, but stressed that their use should be guided by a healthcare professional, with periodic blood tests helping clinicians assess patients’ responses and determine whether treatment needed adjustment.
The physician also recommended regular physical activity and eating more fruits and vegetables, while reducing excessive consumption of fatty foods and oil.
He urged people to avoid sedentary lifestyles, adding that exercise and dietary changes were important parts of managing cholesterol levels.
Also speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, the Assistant Director of Dietetics at the Lagos State Health Service Commission, General Hospital, Badagry, Olusola Malomo, identified heart attacks and strokes among the major complications associated with persistently high cholesterol, adding that peripheral arterial disease could also develop.
Malomo explained that the process could begin long before a person noticed any health problem.
“Excess LDL enters the walls of the arteries and gets trapped there. The body treats it as an injury, so inflammatory cells move in, and over years fatty ‘plaques’ build up,” he said.
He explained that these deposits could narrow the arteries and restrict blood flow, while a rupture in a plaque could trigger the formation of a blood clot.
“If the clot blocks a heart artery, the result is a heart attack. If it blocks a brain artery, or breaks off and travels to the brain, the result is a stroke,” Malomo explained.
He added that peripheral arterial disease could occur when narrowed arteries reduce blood supply to the limbs, potentially causing pain while walking and poor wound healing. In severe cases, the condition could lead to tissue damage and amputation.
The dietitian warned that people should not assume they were free from high cholesterol simply because they felt well.
“Most people with dangerously high levels feel completely well,” he said, noting that the condition was often discovered through laboratory testing rather than symptoms.
Malomo advised adults to discuss cholesterol screening with healthcare professionals, particularly if they had risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, kidney disease or a family history of early cardiovascular disease.
He recommended reducing fried foods, fatty and processed meats, pastries and other foods high in unhealthy fats, while increasing the intake of beans, vegetables, fruits, whole grains and fish.
He also advised regular physical activity, smoking cessation and appropriate medical follow-up for people diagnosed with high cholesterol.
According to Malomo, lifestyle changes may be sufficient for some people with mildly elevated cholesterol and a low overall cardiovascular risk, but others may require medication based on their cholesterol levels, medical history and risk of cardiovascular disease.
He stressed that people should not stop prescribed cholesterol-lowering medicines simply because they felt better, adding that treatment decisions should be made with a healthcare professional.
“Medication supports lifestyle change but does not replace it,” Malomo said.
Credit: healthwise.punchng.com
