The High Cholesterol Support Center

 

Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like high cholesterol, you are never alone.  Countless men and women have faced exactly the same diagnosis and have survived and thrived. The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same challenge. 

TSC has scoured the Web to assemble links to the very best high cholesterolresources: articles, blogs, forums, and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional, and other challenges you're facing now.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this high cholesterol guide even more helpful to survivors like you.  

JUST FOUND OUT 

Survivors Say: Best Resources for High Cholesterol

• National Heart Lung Blood Institute: High Blood Cholesterol - What You Need to Know
• American Heart Association/HeartHub: Cholesterol
• Mayoclinic.com: High Blood Cholesterol
  

The Big Picture

When there is too much cholesterol, a fat-like substance in your blood, it can build up in your arteries, causing what's called "hardening of the arteries," so that blood flow to the heart is slowed down or blocked. Since blood carries oxygen to the heart, if you can't get enough blood/oxygen to your heart you may feel chest pain and if the blood supply is cut off completely because it's blocked, you'll experience a heart attack.  

How much do you know about cholesterol? Test your knowledge with this American Heart Association quiz:

Test Your Cholesterol IQ

Your High Cholesterol

You'll first need to understand what your cholesterol levels mean:

National Heart Lung Blood Institute: What do your cholesterol numbers mean?

This is a good time to get familiar with any risk factors that may have increased your likelihood of having high cholesterol:

Mayoclinic.com: High blood cholesterol - risk factors

Do you know the difference between total, LDL and HDL cholesterol? This fact-sheet spells it all out:

American Heart Association: LDL and HDL Cholesterol - What's Bad and What's Good?

Your World

After getting the news that you have a condition that, if left untreated, could lead to a life-threatening problem, you may be experiencing many emotions. Talk with your loved ones and reach out for support if you need it during the initial stages of your journey:

• WebMD.com: Cholesterol - Support Group
• Dailystrength.org: High Cholesterol Support Group

High Cholesterol Myths

• "There's no connection between diabetes and high cholesterol."
  
• "If you don't have chest pain, your cholesterol level is probably okay."
  
• "Only your diet affects your cholesterol level."
  

• American Heart Association: Common Misconceptions About High Cholesterol
• WebMD.com: Cholesterol Management - Fact or Myth?
  

Information and Recommended Links for Survivors

• American Heart Association: Managing Your Cholesterol
• National Heart Lung Blood Institute: Treating High Cholesterol
• Mayoclinic.com: High Blood Cholesterol - Treatments & Drugs
• WebMD.com: Cholesterol Management Guide: Living & Managing

Types of Treatment

Lifestyle Changes

Living a healthier life -- following a cholesterol-lowering diet; getting regular, vigorous physical activity; quitting smoking; and managing your weight -- is perhaps the most important thing you can do to keep your cholesterol in check:

• National Heart Lung Blood Institute: Lowering Cholesterol with Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC)
• Mayoclinic.com: High Blood Cholesterol - Lifestyle and home remedies
  

Medication

Cholesterol-lowering drugs, especially statins, are often used together with lifestyle changes:

• American Heart Association: Cholesterol-lowering drugs
  
• American Heart Association: Medicine Chart (to help track your medication)

Possible Treatment Side Effects

Lifestyle changes don't carry any risk of side effects, but all drugs come with that possibility. Talk to your doctor about what you can expect from any cholesterol-lowering medication you're taking, as well as any possible interactions with other prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, supplements or herbal medicine:

American Heart Association: Side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs

New Therapies

Increasing rates of obesity, even among the young, mean there are more children with high cholesterol, necessitating the need to treat them as well:

• Kidshealth.org: Cholesterol and Your Child
• American Heart Association: Children and Cholesterol

Holistic Treatments

• Mayoclinic.com: High Blood Cholesterol - Alternative Medicine
• The Cleveland Clinic: Complementary/alternative therapies for cholesterol reduction
  

Creating a Support Circle

• Set up your TSC survivor profile.
• Join support groups of other survivors or start your own.
• Interact and provide updates on your TSC profile or in the TSC forums.

Insurance Matters

HealthCentral.com: High Cholesterol Insurance Help

Health-care Providers Who Can Help

Generally speaking, your primary care physician or internist can diagnose and treat high cholesterol. If things have turned serious and your high cholesterol was diagnosed after you experienced a heart problem, chances are you saw a cardiologist (a heart specialist) and you may continue to see him/her for follow-up care.

Resources to Find Doctors

American College of Cardiology/CardioSmart.org 

The Emotional Rollercoaster

Living with a potentially life-threatening condition like high cholesterol can be difficult at times, especially if you're making significant changes to your lifestyle. Try to maintain your normal routine as much as possible and continue to participate in whatever activities your doctor has given you the green light to do. It can help to talk to other people who've been where you are, too:

• WebMD.com: Cholesterol - Support Group
• Dailystrength.org: High Cholesterol Support Group

Books Survivors Recommend

• 50 Ways to Lower Cholesterol by Mary P. McGowan
• Controlling Cholesterol For Dummies by Carol Ann Rinzler and Martin W. Graf
• Outsmart High Cholesterol by Prevention Health Books (Eds.)
• The American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook, 3rd Edition: Delicious Recipes to Help Lower Your Cholesterol by The American Heart Association

What Survivors Wish They’d Known

Communicating with Your Health-care Providers

• Bring a friend or family member with you to your appointments to provide support and to lend an extra ear; your advocate may also think of questions that you hadn't thought of.
• Don't be afraid to ask any questions you need the answer to, even if you may be scared of the answer.
• Write down any questions ahead of time and  jot down, too, the answers as your health-care provider walks you through them. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification on anything.

Dealing with High Cholesterol: Information for Co-Survivors

How You Can Help

• Encourage a healthy diet by preparing healthier meals for your loved one and making healthy choices at the grocery store.
• Exercise with your survivor; it's much easier for someone to establish a workout routine when they have a partner to help motivate them and hold them accountable.
• Do anything you can to help your loved one adhere to the treatment plan his/her doctor has prescribed, including follow-up appointments.

What to Say    

• "I'll help you stick with your plan to lower your cholesterol."
• "I support you."
• "We can adopt a healthy lifestyle together."

What Not to Say

• "It's not that serious."
• "Just watch what you eat."
• "You're the one on the diet, not me."

How to Build a Support Network

• Set up your TSC co-survivor profile.
• Create a support group for your friend or family member.
• Interact and provide updates on your loved one's progress.

After you've reached recovery and your cholesterol is under control, this may be a good time to assess and share with others how you feel emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. By telling your story, you can not only put into perspective your thoughts and feelings but you may provide hope to others who are going through a similar journey themselves, whether it be with high cholesterol, another health crisis, or something else completely.

Recovery / Recurrence 

There's a great deal you can do to lower your risk for a heart attack or other complication from high cholesterol:

• American Heart Association: Develop a Treatment and Prevention Plan
• Centers for Disease Control: High Blood Cholesterol Prevention
  

Give Back

What helped you while you were dealing with the diagnosis, undergoing treatment, and realized you had your cholesterol under control? Take a look back at your journey and share with other what helped you and what you wished you would have known or done during your experience. You can create a TSC profile, reach out to other survivors, join support, circles or share your story at The Survivors Club. Check out some of the best charities for supporting high cholesterol research or offering support to survivors:

National Heart Lung Blood Institute: Funding & Research

If your high cholesterol remains untreated or poorly managed, it can lead to heart attack or stroke. These are potentially deadly conditions, and for those who do survive, many are often left with life-altering side effects, including brain damage:

Mayoclinic.com: High Blood Cholesterol - Complications

You can estimate your risk of dying of cardiovascular disease in 10 years using this risk calculator:

National Cholesterol Education Program: 10-year CVD Risk Calculator

If you've lost someone to a heart attack brought about by high cholesterol, these resources may help:

• Journeyofhearts.org: Dealing with Sudden, Accidental, or Traumatic Death
• Griefnet.org