The main reason for the development of atherosclerosis is dyslipidemia. What it is? This is a disease that is characterized by a violation of lipid metabolism in the human body. It manifests itself as an increase in blood cholesterol.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that is part of all tissues and organs. Thanks to this compound, many hormones are produced. Without cholesterol, the coordinated work of the digestive and central nervous system is impossible. Cholesterol is vital for the human body. Its main part is formed in the liver, but the substance enters the body and with food. In the blood, cholesterol binds to a protein and forms lipoproteins, which differ in both density (low and high) and properties.
Low-density lipoproteins (“bad” cholesterol) settle on the walls of blood vessels and form atherosclerotic plaques that make blood flow difficult. High density lipoproteins (“good” cholesterol) are able to remove “bad” cholesterol from tissues and transport it to the liver for processing. The determining factor for the occurrence of atherosclerosis is the balance of these two types of cholesterol.
Causes of the disease
The main factors provoking dyslipidemia syndrome are:
- Genetic predisposition. Impaired lipid metabolism can provoke mutations in genes that are responsible for the production of protein compounds that bind to cholesterol, the production of cell receptors and lipid metabolism enzymes.
- Lifestyle. Improper nutrition, lack of physical activity, bad habits and excess weight have the most negative effect on lipid metabolism.
- Stress. With psycho-emotional overstrain, the activity of the nervous system increases, which leads to a violation of fat metabolism.
Types of Dyslipidemia
The disease is classified according to the increase in the size of lipoproteins and lipids (classification by Fredrickson). Primary and secondary dyslipidemia are distinguished. Depending on the increase in one type of cholesterol, isolated or pure hyperlipidemia may occur. If both cholesterol and triglycerides are increased, hyperlipidemia can be mixed or combined.
Dyslipidemia: what are these and what are the symptoms of the disease?
With this disease, specific signs are absent, but symptoms of the underlying disease may appear. Signs indicating the possible presence of dyslipidemia can be as follows:
- type 2 diabetes mellitus;
- body mass index above 30;
- early coronary heart disease in parents;
- arterial hypertension;
- the level of high density lipoproteins is less than 0.9 mol / l for men and less than 1 mol / l for women.
Dyslipidemia: what is this disease and what is its treatment?
Therapy of the disease is to correct the lifestyle. If lipid metabolism is impaired, the patient must adhere to a strict diet with a limited intake of animal fats. With this diagnosis, you should limit physical activity, observe the regime of work and rest, avoid stressful situations, get enough sleep.
If the above methods do not give the desired result, then drug therapy is prescribed. For treatment, anion exchange resins, fibrates, hyparins, fish oil, nicotinic acid and other drugs are used.
From this article, you learned about a condition such as dyslipidemia: what kind of disease, its causes, symptoms and treatment principles.