Heart Month: How to manage bad cholesterol for a better heart
MANILA, Philippines — LDR is a dreaded acronym especially around this time of the month. Who wants to be in a long-distance relationship (LDR) during the month of love? But more than the distance, there are three letters that people should be aware of when it comes to matters of the heart.
LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, should be inscribed on the hearts and minds of those who want to keep their hearts protected. It is one form of cholesterol, and yes, it is mainly known as the "bad cholesterol." Too much LDL can lead to a number of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack.
Apart from these deadly diseases, LDL is another important consideration for persons with diabetes. People with the condition are often conscious of their blood sugar but experts also stressed the importance of taking note of one's cholesterol level.
This is in light of a recent related data. The Philippine Statistics Authority data showed that the top four deaths among Filipinos in 2020 are heart diseases (99,680), cancer (62,289), cerebrovascular diseases (59,736), and diabetes mellitus (37,265).
Know your cholesterol
Cholesterol is not bad per se. It is needed to make hormones, Vitamin D, and bile, which is a digestive fluid produced by the liver. It is transported to the body's cells through the blood on proteins called lipoprotein.
The liver makes enough of the waxy substance, but cholesterol can also come from food like meat and poultry.
If there is bad cholesterol, there's also "good cholesterol" called HDL or high-density lipoprotein. HDL absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver. The liver flushes the absorbed cholesterol from the body.
Too much can kill
Dr. Bien Matawaran warned of a life-threatening event that involves cholesterol.
"There's importance in knowing your LDL or bad cholesterol and HDL or good cholesterol because the good cholesterol will be the prime mover for what we call atherosclerosis. It's a condition when there's a build up of plaque inside the arteries, causing them to narrow," Dr. Matawaran said.
Plaque is composed of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances in the blood.
"This leads to decrease in blood supply to organs. The terminal event of patients with atherosclerosis would be a heart attack or a stroke," he added.
Dr. Matawaran is the past president of the Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. He is currently the section chief of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Santo Tomas Hospital.
Not only sugar
The doctor also clarified specifically for people with diabetes to not only mind their sugar, but also cholesterol.
"We've been minding blood sugars for patients with diabetes but we now know there's more to it than blood sugar. One of that is cholesterol and that is why we really need to address that. That's why we showed you the multi-factorial intervention or comprehensive anti-sclerotic regimen for patients with diabetes," he said.
The multi-factorial intervention for people with diabetes include taking medications like statins, a drug that can lower cholesterol, as prescribed by one's physician; proper nutrition and diet; and lifestyle changes such as maintaining an active lifestyle and observing exercise routines.
Dr. Matawaran said when these are observed, diabetes can be managed. He cited the 1990s study by the United Kingdom Perspective Diabetes Studies.
"It showed that when a diabetic is managed, given anti-diabetic agent, given something for cholesterol, and given something for hypertension, there is greater reduction in events. It means heart attack and stroke are conferred greatly by cheating lipids and cholesterol. The third was blood sugar. What does that mean? Of course they are all important but we should not leave the other risks for patients with diabetes -- that we have to manage cholesterol and hypertension aside from blood sugar. That's the change now in how we manage diabetes," he explained.
As prescribed by the doctor, it is imperative to take care of one's heart by proactively taking care of factors -- like sugar and cholesterol -- that can affect it.
It may be an excuse to overload on the sugar and the steaks for those dates with the SO (significant other) since February only comes once in a year. But take heed, go easy on the sugar and fat because too much can actually kill.
