Cholesterol or Inflammation which is the Culprit?
“Inflammation is now understood to play a critical role in the conversion of a stable cholesterol plaque into a worrisome, unstable lesion (injury),” says Dr. Ridker, who practices cardiology at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Inflammation can cause even small amounts of cholesterol plaque to rupture — like an angry zit — causing the formation of a blood clot at the rupture site which can block the artery and cause a heart attack or stroke. Even those with low cholesterol are vulnerable, because most of us have some plaque in our arteries by the time we reach middle age.
First, you can ask your doctor to order a blood test measuring your high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Make sure you’re getting the “high-sensitivity” test, because the older test, simply called the “CRP,” doesn’t measure inflammation as precisely as the high sensitivity version. “We’re talking about an extremely low level of inflammation – so low that the person has no symptoms and isn’t sick,” says Ridker. “Until recently, we couldn’t even detect the inflammation with a blood test.” If your inflammation is higher than normal, try the well-known life style measures. If you smoke, stop. Exercise regularly, weight training and aerobics. “Cigarettes smoking drives [inflammation] up and exercise reduces it,” says Dr. Ridker.
If you are overweight, reduce. “Obesity heightens the inflammatory process,” says Ridker. Even gaining an extra 10 or 20 pounds can raise your inflammation level substantially. Diet is also a factor. Eating a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol is important.