eHealth Connection | Cooper University Hospital

High cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. In fact, the higher your cholesterol level, the greater your risk for developing heart disease or having a heart attack or stroke.

In observance of National Cholesterol Education Month, the Cooper Heart Institute reminds you to keep your cholesterol levels in check.

The following information is offered to help you understand the importance of cholesterol testing, and how maintaining healthy cholesterol levels can protect your heart and arteries.
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If heart disease runs in your family, or if you’ve had any type of heart or vascular problem in the past, you might want to look into more detailed cholesterol testing to better determine which treatments might be best for you.

“When it comes to assessing risks for cardiovascular disease, it’s important to know that routine lipid (cholesterol) testing doesn’t always tell the complete story,” said Perry J. Weinstock, M.D., a cardiologist and board-certified lipidologist, who heads the division of cardiovascular disease at Cooper University Hospital.  Dr. Weinstock will be answering questions about lipids and statins during the May 21st Health eTalk.  To find out more or to ask a question, click here: www.cooperhealth.org/etalk. Read the full story

A lipid is a fat-like substance in the body that is greasy or oily. There are two types of lipids: cholesterol and triglycerides. They are measured by a simple blood test called a fasting lipid profile.

Cholesterol and triglycerides travel through the body in “packages” called lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are made up of a lipid and a protein, each of which is in different amounts within the lipoprotein “package.” Lipoproteins are the vehicle by which cholesterol and triglycerides move through the bloodstream and to other parts of the body. Read the full story

You are trim, fit and active. You eat right, don’t smoke and rarely “stress out.” You are told your blood pressure and your cholesterol are normal.

Still, if heart disease runs in your family, or if you’ve had any type of heart or vascular problem in the past, you might want to take a closer look at your cholesterol to make sure routine screening isn’t missing other potentially life- threatening cholesterol disorders. Read the full story