High cholesterol levels can increase or accelerate your risk of certain eye problems. Therefore, taking care of your diet and, in general, your health will be good. It is necessary for your physical appearance and prevents diseases of all kinds. There are certain symptoms of high cholesterol in the eyes.
A high cholesterol level can block blood flow in the eye area. Because just as it can accumulate on the walls of the blood vessels in the rest of the body. It may do so in those near the eyes, causing a decrease in oxygenation of the ocular tissues. It can derive from a subtle deterioration in the perception of colors to a partial or total loss of vision.
High cholesterol symptoms eyes
Excess cholesterol can affect visual acuity by at some mechanisms:
- Vascular damage or age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
- Cholesterol can impact vision.
- Vascular occlusion of the retina
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
- Good prevention reflexes
Cholesterol deposited in the arteries (or atherosclerosis) can cause eye damage.
Loss of color perception
An excess of cholesterol in the blood can affect the retina. Or the area of the cerebral cortex where visual function takes place. It causes a progressive loss of the ability to distinguish colors.
Blockage of blood flow
If cholesterol accumulates in tissues near the retina, it can block blood flow in the area and partially or lose vision. Just as it can lead to cardiac arrest, a heart attack in the area of the retina could occur.
Xanthelasmas
Xanthomas are deposits of cholesterol on the skin. If they appear near the eyes, they are xanthelasmas and appear as yellow spots on the eyelids. Although it does not have complications that are harmful to health, they are an aesthetic problem. They can also form a yellowish or grayish color in the arch around the cornea. In middle-aged people, it associates with familial hypercholesterolemia. It also does not affect vision. But it is a clear sign of a high cholesterol level that we should be concerned about.
It is very important to have a healthy lifestyle to prevent cholesterol-related problems. Regularly eat a balanced diet and exercise. If you have any of these problems or have signs, you may suffer from them. What you should do, in addition to taking care of yourself. That is to go immediately to the ophthalmologist. In this way, we can diagnose and treat them in time before leading to serious pathologies or vision loss.
Cholesterol symptoms eyes: Vascular occlusion of the retina
The progressive obstruction of small vessels or the “release” in the circulation of pieces of atheromatous plaque can result in occlusion of the central artery of the retina or one of its branches, causing loss of vision. Most of the time, there are no warning signs and the deficit is sudden.
The vein can also become occluded, causing the same damage. A 2008 Irish study showed that subjects with hyperlipidemia were at greater risk of suffering from a venous occlusion of the retina.
In addition, the appearance of a white-yellow deposit visible on the cornea may reflect hypercholesterolemia. But it does not cause visual impairment. It must, however, encourage a complete assessment.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
It is the leading cause of blindness in adults in industrialized countries and affects half of 80. The central vision and details alter gradually (deformations, amputations of the visual field), resulting in blindness.
A study from the Washington University of Medicine in Saint Louis showed that age. The build-up of cholesterol leads to the growth of new blood vessels, promoting AMD’s progression.
Another study from April 2013, in mice, objected that the installation of anti-cholesterol eye drops could induce a decrease in the growth of abnormal vessels. And therefore reduce the progression of AMD.
An Inserm study, published in November 2013, takes up this idea. It shows that the genes involved both in cholesterol transport and in the occurrence of AMD, confirming close links between these two phenomena.
Future studies should confirm these relationships and pave the way for new preventive or curative treatments for this irreversible eye disease.
What is cholesterol, and why are high cholesterol symptoms in the eyes bad?
High cholesterol, a substance in our blood, needs to form healthy cells, transported bound to proteins; the combination of cholesterol and proteins is a lipoprotein. There are different types of cholesterol:
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad cholesterol.” It carries cholesterol particles that accumulate on the walls of the arteries, hardening and narrowing them.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good cholesterol.” It collects excess cholesterol to return it to the liver.
Although high cholesterol is not a short-term problem, if it maintains for a long time, it accelerates the development of arteriosclerosis, an age-related degenerative process of the arteries. The accumulation of fatty deposits causes a narrowing and hardening of the ducts that carry blood to the organs, which can completely obstruct them with serious consequences for our cardiovascular health, affecting the heart (heart attacks ) and the brain ( stroke, apoplexy).
Causes of high cholesterol and risk factors
Genetic factors intervene in the elevation of the so-called bad cholesterol, although environmental factors and certain unhealthy habits that can be remedied also influence. They can increase this risk:
The age, because the liver is becoming less able to eliminate bad cholesterol.
Being overweight, although slim, people should also watch their cholesterol with a body mass index greater than 30.
Physical inactivity: Exercise helps increase good cholesterol.
An improper diet, with an excess of saturated fat or foods high in cholesterol (such as dairy products or red meat).
Smoking damages the walls of blood vessels, making them more likely to accumulate fat and lower good cholesterol.
Diabetes, since a high sugar level, higher cholesterol levels comprises very low density (VLDL).
On other occasions, dyslipidemia is caused by liver, endocrine, and kidney diseases or by taking certain drugs.
High cholesterol symptoms and possible complications
Despite the belief that hypercholesterolemia causes headaches or dizziness, high cholesterol does not cause any symptoms, increasing its danger.
The excessive accumulation of cholesterol in the walls of the arteries can reduce the blood flow through the arteries, which can involve various complications.
Chest pain (angina pectoris) is when the arteries supply blood to the heart.
Heart attack: If platelets break, a blood clot can form, obstructing blood flow or plugging an artery.
Cardiovascular accident, when the flow to a part of the brain is blocked.
Suppose you want to prevent its appearance in people with a probability of suffering from coronary disease. In that case, it is recommended to undergo a series of tests between the ages of 35 and 40, known as the lipid profile. Periodic medical controls should be followed, depending on the presence or not of other risk factors and the existence of diseases of the circulatory system.
How to prevent high cholesterol?
Many functional foods and dietary supplements are currently promoted as beneficial products for these disorders. Phytosterols and ethanols, molecules with a structure analogous to cholesterol from the plant kingdom, block intestinal absorption and are found naturally in corn, sunflower, soybean oils, and to a lesser extent in fresh vegetables and fruits. Their consumption of 1-2 grams per day lowers cholesterol. They are present in the market through numerous products –especially dairy products enriched with them–, although their preventive intake is not recommended in people with normal cholesterol.
Healthy eating: A balanced and varied diet should prioritize the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fish to the detriment of fats, limiting them to 25-30% with a greater presence of unsaturated – vegetables – compared to saturated – of animal origin. In the case of hypercholesterolemia, the latter should not represent more than 7% in the diet.
Reduce your alcohol intake.
Quit smoking.
Keep stress under control.
Avoid being overweight.
Perform physical exercise.
If you want to delve into the measures that will allow you to improve your health, we recommend our entry: tips to lower cholesterol.
When to see the doctor?
Children and young adults who do not have risk factors for heart disease usually have the first test between 9 and 11 and a second between 17 and 19. Once they enter adulthood, it is recommended to repeat the test every five years.
Suppose the results are not within the acceptable parameters. In that case, if you have a family history, heart disease, or any other of the risk factors mentioned in this post, your doctor will probably recommend a more frequent follow-up.
FAQ on high cholesterol symptoms eyes
How to increase the speed of cholesterol?
- Reduce the global support data.
- Privileges that take place at home.
- Find fruits and vegetables.
- Stop the tobacco, moderate the consumption of alcohol.
- Play sports.
- Watch out for salt.
- Monitoring your tension artillery.
Which of the following is the most common type of cholesterol?
- Lean and fatty fish (sardines, tuna, salmon, halibut, mackerel), seafood.
- Lean meats cooked on the grill by Vertical Pellet Smoker
- Starches: rice, pasta, potatoes (without sauce)
- Whole grains without added sugar
- Wholemeal bread, bran, rye, country.
- Fresh fruits and compotes.
How to increase total cholesterol?
If you want to increase the concentration of LDL cholesterol, the confection will reduce the availability of saturated grapes: animal grapes present in the grasslands, the charcuterie, the lecture graces; Also, those graces trans present in the products of industrial biscuit notation.
How do you get rid of cholesterol?
The treatment solutions are:
Give away the consumption of cheeses, red meat, fatty dairy products, charcuterie, and the lowering of cholesterol support like these foods,
The muffler of features, the donuts and the hulls of cooking,
Favorite oils of sunflower, olive, and rapeseed, etc.
Conclusion on high cholesterol symptoms eyes
In the meantime, having a healthy and balanced diet and regular physical activity remains a good goal. Regular medical check-ups should also be carried out in search of cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, etc.).
In addition to regular ophthalmologic examinations, you should consult a specialist at the appearance of the slightest symptom, such as blurred vision, amputation of the visual field, the poor vision of details or colors, as well as the vision of distorted images or of lines that merge.
If the eyes are the reflection of the soul, they are also that of the cardiovascular state of the organism.
