September is National Cholesterol Education Month, which means it’s a good time to find out your total cholesterol levels as well as your HDL (“good” cholesterol) and LDL (“bad” cholesterol) levels. Have you had them checked in the last five years?
More than 102 million Americans have a total cholesterol level at or above 200 mg/dL, which is beyond healthy levels, and more than 35 million of those individuals have levels of 240 mg/dL or higher, which puts them at high risk of heart disease. That’s a major concern given that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.
Fortunately, high cholesterol can be lowered with lifestyle changes – including losing weight, eating healthier, exercising and quitting smoking – as well as medication. But to start turning things around, you have to know there’s a problem. Even children and adolescents can have high cholesterol, especially if they are overweight.
Here at PatientsLikeMe, 335 patients report hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol) while 235 patients report hyperlipidemia (high lipids in the blood, including cholesterol and triglycerides.) Across both conditions, some of the top reported medications include Simvastatin, Atorvastatin, Pravastatin and Rosovastatin.
If you’re unsure of your cholesterol levels, talk to your doctor at your next visit. And if you’re already aware that your levels are high, reach out to other patients like you today at PatientsLikeMe. Changing your lifestyle isn’t easy, but it’s easier when you have a community to lean on for support, answers and advice.