High cholesterol occurs when you have too much of a fatty substance called cholesterol in your blood, meaning you're more likely to suffer from medical emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks.
More than two in five people in England have high cholesterol which puts them at significant risk of developing heart disease.
People with high cholesterol are often unaware they have the condition until they get tested, or if it causes a serious problem.
But according to one doctor, there are some tell-tale signs that can signal high cholesterol.
Dr Joseph Ambani from GlowBar claims memory loss is an unusual symptom of too much cholesterol.
“High cholesterol is a common condition that can have a variety of symptoms,” he explained.
“Some of the more unusual symptoms of high cholesterol include difficulty concentrating or memory loss.”
This knowledge has been backed by research, including a 2008 study which identified that people with low levels of high-density lipoprotein (“good” cholesterol) were more likely to have poor memory.
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More specifically, from a trial of 3,673 participants, researchers found that by the age of 60, these men and women were 53 percent more likely to have memory loss than those with higher levels.
Lead author of the study, which was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association, Archana Singh-Manoux, said: “Memory problems are key in the diagnosis of dementia.
“We found that a low level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) may be a risk factor for memory loss in late midlife. This suggests that low HDL cholesterol might also be a risk factor for dementia."
High-density lipoprotein works to reduce cholesterol levels by absorbing it and carrying it back to the liver, where it is then removed.
Whereas, low-density lipoprotein (“bad” cholesterol) is what builds up on the walls of your blood vessels.
Over time this causes the insides of the vessels to narrow, leading to problems.
Another study, from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that having high levels of low-density lipoprotein could affect memory.
It said: “Higher plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was associated with poorer working memory task performance and reduced task-related default-mode network suppression.
“These findings suggest a deleterious effect of elevated LDL-C on working memory task performance and task-related DMN suppression in older adults with cardiovascular risk."
According to experts, a healthy level of total cholesterol in the blood is considered to be five or less millimoles per litre (mmol/l).
Whereas, a healthy level of high-density lipoprotein is one or more mmol/l.
Four or less mmol/l of low-density lipoprotein is also considered normal.
The NHS has revealed four ways to reduce cholesterol, these include:
Eating less saturated fat
Exercising more
To stop smoking
Cutting back on alcohol.
