Do you know your cholesterol values? If not you should think about to get checked. Only few blood drops are needed to determine cholesterol. Today cholesterol awareness in Germany is taking place. The initiative organized by DGFF (Lipid-Liga) e.V. the German lipid liga aims at generating more knowledge about the risks of increased cholesterol values as well as preventive strategies. As part of every animal cell membrane, the lipid like molecule cholesterol is essential for almost all living organisms. Since it cannot be freely transported inside organisms, cholesterol is carried by lipoproteins, mainly by high-density (HDL) and low-density (LDL) lipoproteins with LDL being more in focus, because LDL is responsible for general cholesterol transports. High LDL values implicate an increased amount of not incorporated cholesterol inside the blood vessels. Accumulation of cholesterol carrying particles are narrowing down blood vessels. This process is known as atherosclerosis, a cardiovascular disease (CVD) that may cause stroke and even myocardial infarction. In recent years and decades, much research has been done on this subject and improvements have been made in in treatment, but still CVDs are the leading cause of death worldwide. One reason might be because in the beginning atherosclerosis comes in silence and without any pain n. Only by diagnostic methods like LDL-c measurement, this risk potential can be assessed. Cardiovascular disease risk assessment is complex and LDL-c is only one possibility of risk clarification. Cholesterol awareness day aims to generate awareness for these risks and how to prevent them generally, and finally, how to become aware of increased personal risks.
For more info on DiaSys' Lipid panel refer to the website: Lipid Metabolism and Atherosclerosis Risk.
More info on Cholesterol Day published by Lipid-Liga.
References
- World Health Organization. (2016). Raised total cholesterol (≥5.0 mmol/L), Data by WHO region. Retrieved January 9, 2019 from http://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.2570?lang=en
- Mendis S, Puska P, Norrving B. Global Atlas on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization in collaboration with the World Heart Federation and the World Stroke Organization; 2011.
- National Human Genome Research Institute. Learning about Familial Hypercholesterolemia. www.genome.gov/25520184. Accessed August 2014.
- World Health Organization. Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Guidelines for Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risk. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2007.
Malte Hilsch