General Practice Community Chronic Disease Health Promotion Series - What to do if your blood lipids are high?

The survey data in the "Report on the Nutrition and Chronic Disease Status of Chinese Residents (2020)" show that 35.6% of Chinese residents over the age of 18 have dyslipidemia, while the awareness rate of dyslipidemia among residents is 11%, the treatment rate is 5.1%, and the control rate is only 2.8%. These data fully reflect that residents do not pay enough attention to dyslipidemia. Now I will popularize "hyperlipidemia" for you.

1. What is hyperlipidemia?

Hyperlipidemia refers to an increase in one or more of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and a decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in serum.

2. What are the dangers of hyperlipidemia?

High blood lipids, especially the deposition of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol), are the culprits for plaque formation. Plaques can be stable or unstable, and the two can transform into each other. Under adverse conditions, stable plaques transform into unstable plaques, and unstable plaques are prone to rupture, leading to thrombosis, blocking blood vessels, and causing myocardial infarction and stroke.

3. What should I do if my blood lipids are high?

Among the blood lipid indicators, triglycerides are the most susceptible to diet. As long as you consume more fat in your diet, your triglyceride level will rise. Therefore, adjusting your diet and adopting a healthy lifestyle are the cornerstones of controlling dyslipidemia. If lifestyle adjustments have not been effective after a period of time, you need to use different lipid-lowering drugs to control blood lipids for different types of dyslipidemia.

The key to a healthy lifestyle is: a balanced diet, exercise, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol consumption and losing weight.

4. If blood lipid indicators are within the normal range, do I need treatment?

On the hospital test report, there is a normal value after each blood lipid index. Many patients find that their results are within the normal range and think that their blood lipids are normal. This is a misunderstanding. Normal blood lipids have "specificity" and whether blood lipids are normal varies from person to person. The more risk factors there are, the lower blood lipids, especially low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, should be controlled.

5. Which groups of people need to have their blood lipids tested?

▼Adults aged 20-40 should have their blood lipids tested every 2-5 years;

Adults aged ≥40 years should undergo at least one test per year.

▼People at high risk of cardiovascular disease should undergo blood lipid testing according to prevention and treatment requirements;

▼ Immediate relatives of people with familial hypercholesterolemia should undergo lipid screening;

▼Included in routine physical examinations for primary, junior and high school students.

6. Test yourself, are you a key group for blood lipid testing?

▼The "elite" who often socializes

▼Foodies who love seafood and offal

▼The “homebodies” who don’t like exercise

▼The drunkard who likes drinking

▼The "old smoker" who likes to smoke

▼ Overweight “fat people”

▼ "Chronic patients" with three highs

Men over 40 years old

▼Postmenopausal women

▼ Family history of myocardial infarction or stroke

▼ Patients with skin xanthomas

Everyone should remember:

Hyperlipidemia is easy to treat, and early detection is important.

Eat regularly and have regular physical examinations, and pay attention to blood lipids to prevent serious diseases.

Xu Lili, Department of General Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University