Hypercholesterolemia Causes and Symptoms
The basic cause of high blood cholesterol levels is a combination of genetic factors and lifestyle factors, particularly diet. There is one specific form of hypercholesterolemia called familial hypercholesterolemia that affects about one person in every 500 in the United States. Familial hypercholesterolemia is caused by a mutation in one specific gene known as the LDLR gene.
Genetic factors, however, also affect other people’s risk of hypercholesterolemia. As of 2008 no other specific genes had been associated with high blood cholesterol levels in the general population; researchers think that there are probably several such genes rather than only one. These genetic factors contribute to high cholesterol levels either by interfering with the body’s ability to remove LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream or by allowing the liver to produce too much cholesterol.
A person can have high blood cholesterol levels without any notice- able symptoms. Because of this fact, the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines suggest that everyone aged twenty years and older should have their blood cholesterol level measured at least once every five years.
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