High cholesterol symptoms: The warning sign of the ‘dangerous’ condition – ‘visit doctor’

This Morning's Dr Chris discusses the signs of high cholesterol

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High cholesterol describes a build-up of a fatty substance called cholesterol in your blood. Even though your body needs some cholesterol to function properly, persistently elevated levels can harden your arteries, leading to severe health problems. Here’s one warning sign that could be pointing to high levels.

From poor diet to not enough exercise, there are various triggers for the fatty culprit.

What’s worse, once your levels become too high, you might not even know it.

High cholesterol is characterised by a lack of symptoms.

But pharmacist Hussain Abdeh, from Medicine Direct, has shared one possible warning sign of high cholesterol.

The pharmacist said: “Most people with high cholesterol will not exhibit any symptoms at all. This is what makes it dangerous.

“There are a lot of people out there who do not know they have high cholesterol until they are struck down with a serious problem, such as a heart attack.

“The only real way to spot the signs of high cholesterol is to have a blood test. This will see how much cholesterol is in your body.”

However, the condition can present some symptoms in certain cases, including impotence.

Mr Abdeh explained: “If you are a man and suddenly start to suffer from impotence, this could be due to high cholesterol.

“High levels of blood cholesterol can affect the arteries and make it more difficult to gain an erection.”

According to Boston Medical Group, the more “bad” cholesterol you have, the more likely you’re to experience erection problems.

Apart from blocking the blood flow, high cholesterol can also impact your body’s production of necessary chemicals for erection.

The health portal noted: “High cholesterol affects the body’s ability to properly release nitric oxide into the bloodstream.

“This prevents the proper relaxation of penile tissues to cause erectile engorgement.”

Although this sign could be pointing to the fatty substance, erectile dysfunction can be also caused by a different health problem.

The NHS advises seeing a GP or visiting a sex clinic if this problem keeps occurring.

The pharmacist also shared what to do when you experience this sign. He said: “You should visit your doctor and get your cholesterol levels checked.

“Avoiding this could lead to a heart attack, stroke or other serious debilitating illness.”

To get tested for cholesterol, you might either have a blood test taken or a finger-prick test done.

Once you get your levels checked and confirmed, you might have to start taking statin medication or pick up new lifestyle habits, including a healthy diet and more exercise.

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