High cholesterol doesn’t play favourites with any part of your cardiovascular system, hiking your risk of heart disease and strokes. Therefore it’s imperative to treat the fatty substance before it progresses to serious health problems. Although high cholesterol doesn’t show symptoms, some warning sign may appear once it builds up in your arteries. One tell-tale sign of this process can strike in five areas.
This impaired blood flow to your legs can sometimes lead to a “common” condition known as peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The “first symptom” of PAD is usually an uncomfortable sensation known as intermittent claudication.
Claudication describes muscle pain that happens when you’re active and stops when you rest.
In some cases, the pain becomes so intense that it starts interfering with activities like walking.
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How to lower high cholesterol levels
Between a healthy diet and quitting smoking, there are various lifestyle habits that can be very effective at busting the fatty substance.
A cholesterol-lowering diet focuses on reducing your intake of food rich in saturated fat – think cheese and sausages – while allowing you to eat unsaturated fat – think olive oil and nuts.
According to the NHS, checking food labels can help you to see what type of fat the food in question has.
Exercise, quitting smoking and cutting back on alcohol are all helpful lifestyle tweaks as well.
