High Blood Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fatty substance made by the liver and found in all parts of your body. Your body uses cholesterol to produce hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help to digest fat. It takes only a small amount of cholesterol in the blood to meet these needs, and your liver makes all the cholesterol your body needs.

High blood cholesterol means that there is too much cholesterol (a fat-like substance) in your blood. Your risk for getting heart disease or having a heart attack goes up when your cholesterol level is too high. If you have high blood cholesterol, fatty deposits called plaque can build up on the walls of the arteries. This is called atherosclerosis. If the arteries that carry blood to your heart (the coronary arteries) are affected, less blood and oxygen can get to your heart. This can cause chest pain (angina) and heart attacks.