Important Facts about High Cholesterol

October is National Cholesterol Month here in the UK, dedicated to raising funds and awareness around the prevention of high cholesterol, featuring charities such as HEART UK. There are many risks associated with high cholesterol that can often lead to serious, and even fatal, health problems. The good news is that cholesterol can be controlled, and high cholesterol can be lowered to help prevent these associated risks.

For information on what cholesterol actually is and its purpose in the body, visit the NHS website.

The Risks of High Cholesterol

According to the NHS, there is strong evidence to suggest that high cholesterol can lead to some very serious health concerns, including:

• Narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis)
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) – often known as a “mini stroke”
• Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
• Blood clots

Who is at risk?

Anyone can be at risk of high cholesterol, including children. However, there are a number of factors that influence the level of cholesterol in your body, some controllable, some not. According to the British Heart Foundation’s website, these include:

Things that cause high cholesterol you can control:

• Eating a lot of saturated fat
• Smoking
• Not being active enough
• Having too much body fat, especially around your middle.

Things that cause high cholesterol you can’t control:

• Getting older
• If you are male or female
• Ethnic background
• Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) and other inherited diseases.

High Cholesterol can cause big problems, but there are some straightforward changes you can make to lower cholesterol in the body.

Lowering your Cholesterol

There are some positive steps you can take in order to lower cholesterol. These include:

• Eating a healthy, balanced diet (the British Heart Foundation have some great tips on their website)
• Getting regular, daily exercise
• Stopping smoking

Addressing High Cholesterol in the Workplace

The workplace offers a fantastic opportunity for bosses to look after their employees’ general health, and to help prevent the associated costs of cholesterol related sickness and absences. There are some easy and effective steps your workplace can take to get started:

• Get checked – most importantly, know what you’re up against. A quick health screen (including important cholesterol information) for your workplace can provide great insight into the state of your employees’ health, and can give a good indication of the next steps. Click here for more information about onsite workplace health screens.
• Encourage employees to get active. On-site sports and activities, walk/cycle to work initiatives, regular activity/team-building days – there are plenty of options!
• Become a smoke-free workplace. Easier said than done, but encouraging your employees to stop smoking will help create massive improvements in workplace health, wellbeing and productivity. For more information, click here to read our recent blog post on smoking in the workplace.

Addressing cholesterol in the workplace may just be the start of your wellbeing journey, and New Leaf Health are here to help. For more information on our cholesterol related health services, email enquiries@newleafhealth.co.uk or call our team on 01384 877855.

For more information on cholesterol, visit the NHS website or the British Heart Foundation website.