High cholesterol can occur due to an unhealthy lifestyle and can increase a person's risk of developing life-threatening conditions such as heart disease or a stroke .
It can have a number of symptoms as the cholesterol build-up in your body can impact hands, feet, and even eyes among other warning signs.
Many may not realise that their eyes could warn of cholesterol build-up, however it is important to know the symptoms so that you can make the necessary lifestyle changes to bring it back to healthy levels.
Typically this requires some exercise and a balanced diet as well as cutting out smoking and drinking alcohol, the Mirror reports .
With that in mind, here are three eye symptoms which may signal that your cholesterol levels are too high, putting you at an increased risk for a number of serious health conditions.
Eye symptoms linked to high cholesterol
Xanthelasma
The most common eye symptom that is linked to high cholesterol is a xanthelasma. Cholesterol can deposit around the eyes to form fatty, yellowish lumps, according to The NHS.
They look like flat or somewhat raised yellowish bumps around the eyes or near the nose. They also tend to appear on the upper and lower eyelids, near the inner corner of the eye, and often develop symmetrically around both eyes.
The deposits are caused by a build-up of cholesterol under the skin. These lesions may remain the same size or grow very slowly over time. Xanthelasmas do not affect your vision.
Arcus Senilis
A condition called arcus senilis can also indicate high cholesterol. With this condition, a blue, white, or light grey ring forms around the outside of the front of your eye as more cholesterol reaches the cornea.
The ring will appear around the coloured part of the iris. The condition may appear as if there are two colours in the eyes but in fact it's only a discolouration. As with xanthelasma, arcus senilis does not affect your ability to see.
When the condition appears in older people, it is unlikely that it has been caused by high cholesterol; however , experts say that those under 45 who develop the symptoms typically have severe high cholesterol.
Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., a Mayo Clinic researcher who studies obesity and cardiovascular disease, said: "an arc or ring around the iris sometimes occurs in younger people who have severe cases of high cholesterol and high triglycerides passed down through families (familial hyperlipidemia).
"In people with familial hyperlipidemia, this arc or ring typically occurs before age 45 and is associated with an increased risk of heart disease."
Retinal vein occlusion
The retina is a light-sensitive tissue in the back of your eye, with the NHS Foundation Trust's Moorfields Eye Hospital linking the condition to high cholesterol as well as high blood pressure.
The retina receives its blood supply through the retinal artery and retinal vein. When the vein is blocked, blood and fluid spill out into the retina. When this happens, the area of the retina called the macula may become swollen.
The swelling is known to affect a person’s vision. People with cholesterol deposits should see a doctor to have their lipid levels checked.
A simple visual examination will help to determine a person’s risk to high cholesterol.
If your GP is unsure, they may send a scraping or sample to a laboratory for analysis.
The doctor may also test for diabetes and liver function, and possibly recommend a formal cardiovascular risk assessment.
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