Episode 61: What You Need to Know About Heart Health: Is Cholesterol The Enemy We Once Thought It Was?

In today’s episode, Dr. Lisa and Dr. Toni discuss why you need cholesterol, if lowering it really does benefit your heart health, the negative effects of statins, and important risk factors you need to investigate and address for your cardiovascular health.  Why is your heart health important? February is Heart Month in Canada and the United States Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, responsible for about 1 in every 5 female deaths. A woman dies of heart disease in Canada every 20 minutes. Retrospective research shows that early signs of an impending heart attack were missed in 78% of women. Two-thirds of heart disease research focuses on men. Women’s heart disease tends to appear in the smaller blood vessels of the heart rather than the major coronary arteries. This means that symptoms might not fit the classic textbook picture of heart disease. Women are more likely to experience chest discomfort (rather than a crushing pain), shortness of breath, fatigue, indigestion or nausea, back or neck pain.   Angiograms are not effective at diagnosing disease in the smaller blood vessels and stress tests are less sensitive for women. Women’s hearts are impacted by pregnancy, menopause and hormonal changes throughout their lives. What causes heart disease? It might surprise you to find out that it’s not as simple as the idea that cholesterol is bad and low cholesterol is a good thing. What is cholesterol? * Cholesterol is in all of your cells and on your cell membranes to help maintain fluidity of the cell and cell communication* You have different types of cholesterol eg. HDL (high density lipoprotein), LDL (low density lipoprotein), VLDL (very low density lipoprotein)* 85% of cholesterol is made by your liver Why do you need cholesterol? * Allows the arteries and veins to withstand the pressure of the blood flowing through them and heals them after we have any injury. * Most of your hormones are made from cholesterol including your sex hormones. Without enough cholesterol you could see issues with your hormone balance.* Vitamin D is made from cholesterol and sunlight in your skin, and is important for the health of your bones and immune system.* Bile is made from cholesterol and is needed for absorption of fat and fat-soluble vitamins (like vitamin D, E, K and A).* Cholesterol in your cells helps your immune system fight off infections. LDL binds and deactivates bacterial toxins that can cause damage to your cells.* Cholesterol levels in the blood have been found to increase post-surgery, which can aid in the healing process.* About 25% of all cholesterol is taken by your brain. The connections between your brain cells are dependent on cholesterol and you would have no learning or memory without cholesterol. Cholesterol can cause damage to your cardiovascular system when there is a lot of inflammation and oxidative stress that causes your cholesterol to be oxidized and more “sticky”, leading to atherosclerosis or plaque build-up in your blood vessels. It’s important to look at the environment that your cholesterol is in, instead of just treating a single blood marker.  Research suggests that 50% of people who have heart attack or stroke have normal cholesterol levels! What can cause high cholesterol? * High levels of sugar binds with proteins in your blood and makes them “sticky” and attaches to your blood vessel walls starting atherosclerosis* Low thyroid function or hypothyroidism* Nutritional deficiencies,