BECAUSE high cholesterol typically doesn’t cause symptoms, people tend to be unaware they have it unless they have a blood test.
But cardiologists say there are some telltale signs you can spot if your levels are too high, which could indicate something isn’t quite right.
High cholesterol doesn’t usually show any symptoms – but a condition caused by the fatty buildup in your arteries could do something weird to your toes
Cholesterol is a natural fatty substance in your blood which is produced by the liver and some of the foods you eat – everybody needs some of it to keep cells in their body healthy, according to the British Heart Foundation.
Having high cholesterol means you have too much of the fatty substance in your blood.
This can clog up your arteries and raise your risk of having a heart attack or stroke if left untreated.
Dr Sami Firoozi, consultant cardiologist at the Harley Street Clinic, said an unusual sign of the condition can actually show up in your toes.
He told Huffington Post that brittle or slow-growing toenails can be a tell-tale sign of high cholesterol.
This is because the fatty build-up in your arteries could cause peripheral arterial disease (PAD), meaning blood supply to your legs is constricted.
According to the NHS, other PAD symptoms include:
painful aches in your legs when walk, which disappear with rest hair loss on your legs and feetnumbness or weakness in the legsopen sores on your feet and legs, which don’t healthe skin colour on your legs turning paler than usual or blue – this may be harder to see on brown and black skinshiny skinin men, erectile dysfunctionthe muscles in your legs wasting
These symptoms will usually emerge slowly over time, it said.
You can develop high levels of cholesterol if you eat too much saturated fat, aren’t very active or you smoke.
You’re also more likely to get it as you age and it’s more common in men.
But some people familial hypercholesterolaemia, meaning they inherit high levels of cholesterol through faulty genes.
If your family has passed high cholesterol down to you, you may have these visible signs:
1. Tendon xanthomata
Your cholesterol levels might lead to swelling in your knuckles, knees or backs of the ankles.
2. Xanthelasmas
This refers to small yellow lumps of cholesterol near the inner corner of your eye.
3. Corneal arcus
A a pale ring might appear around your iris, which is the coloured part of your eye.
What’s a safe level of cholesterol?
The way you can measure blood cholesterol levels is using the unit millimoles per litre of blood (mmol/L).
Your levels of cholesterol should be:
5mmol/L or less for healthy adults4mmol/L or less for those at high risk
When it comes to measuring low-density lipoproteins – this is what’s referred to as ‘bad cholesterol’ – the levels should be:
3mmol/L or less for healthy adults2mmol/L or less for those at high risk
What’s the best way to lower cholesterol?
Cutting back cholesterol to the levels we were born with reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by a third, a study found.
There are a number of ways you can cut back, including:
Maintain a healthy diet which is low in fatty foodSwap saturated fat for fruit, veg and wholegrain cerealsGive up smokingTake regular exercise Read More