Feb 2023 PSA: Heart Health Month - High Cholesterol

February is American Heart Health Month and this year we’ve chosen to focus on high cholesterol, a condition in which your blood has unhealthy levels of cholesterol—a waxy, fat-like substance. Many factors affect your cholesterol levels. For example, age, sex, eating patterns, and physical activity level can affect your cholesterol levels. Children also can have unhealthy cholesterol levels, especially if they have overweight or obesity or their parents have high blood cholesterol.

Find out more at the CDC website Cholesterol Myths and Facts

• Myth: All cholesterol is bad for you.
• Myth: I would be able to feel it if I had high cholesterol.
• Myth: Eating foods with a lot of cholesterol will not make my cholesterol levels go up
• Myth: I can’t do anything to change my cholesterol levels.
• Myth: I don’t need statins or other medicines for my cholesterol. I can manage my cholesterol with diet and exercise.

A simple blood test can determine if you have high cholesterol. If you do one approach to treatment is called “Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes”