All of us need to be well and healthy to keep pace with our lives and to feel fit. Besides the other regular check ups we need, we also need to get our cholesterol levels checked. Having a high cholesterol level must be checked in time so as to be able to avert further complications such as heart disease and a heart attack.

Strange as it may seem, having high cholesterol is not restricted to being overweight or older as even young, thin and active people can have this problem and almost 1 out of every 5 people are found to have a high level of cholesterol. Even just controlling your diet and exercise may not be enough to lower the cholesterol.

High Cholesterol is an indication of the chances you have to get heart ailments and even a heart attack. So the higher the cholesterol, the higher is the risk factor. In USA, it is found that the average rate of heart disease and heart attacks is alarmingly high.

Cholesterol is really a fat-like substance that builds up inside the arteries, thereby causing them to harden and narrow and obstruct the flow of both blood and oxygen from reaching the heart and when this is insufficient or blocked, it results in chest pain. On this becoming a total blockage, a heart attack happens.

Because there are no particular signs or symptoms of high blood cholesterol, many people are unaware if they do have high cholesterol. It is therefore, very essential to find out what your cholesterol level is as incase you are in the risk zone, it must be lowered and thus the risk of having heart disease or a heart attack is reduced. This is important for everybody: young, middle aged, older; men and women and even those with or without heart disease.

The blood test done to check your is the Lipoprotein profile which gives information about the total cholesterol, the LDL or bad cholesterol, the HDL or good cholesterol and also the triglycerides which are another form of fat in the blood.

The basic things that must be controlled check are diet, exercise, smoking and basic physical activity. Yet, the most accurate diagnosis and help is only given by the Doctor who may need more information on you, your habits, your way of life and maybe even some further investigations to get an overall picture of your health.

The Doctor would then chalk out a low cholesterol diet, behavior and exercise therapy and probably will administer . Many people take Lipitor to bring down their cholesterol. In fact, Lipitor is prescribed even more than the next leading statin. However, please do remember that no medication must be taken without the Doctor's advice and so that there are no the Doctor will adjust the dose according to your needs. Stay calm and stay well!