Lowering Cholesterol procedures and devices

"Health Information" : Having high level of bad cholesterol is a big problem for every one since this is so risky for their health. Thus many medical experts try hard to solve that serious problem. As we know when cholesterol levels have reached such a critical level it is not uncommon for doctors to recommend certain procedures and devices to surgically remove the dangerous build up of plaque resulting from long term high cholesterol. Most people today are aware of their cholesterol readings and have the choice for lowering cholesterol or face one of these serious and invasive procedures.

Angioplasty is a process of expanding the arteries, generally those surrounding the heart so that the blood can freely flow once again. This is done to prevent a complete closing of the artery which would lead to a potentially fatal heart attack. The arteries are expanded by inserting a balloon like device into the blood vessel and then “blowing” it up. This stretches the artery and keeps it open. The elasticity of the artery may not support doing this procedure more than a few times.

There are other devices that can be used for lowering cholesterol surgically. These scrape or cut away at cholesterol build up within the arteries. A laser that was first used in 1992 can be used to “melt” away excess plaque. This dissolves the low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) in a way that if there were enough time, the good high density lipoprotein (HDL) might be able to the job well enough itself. That is why it is important to have enough HDL to manage LDL.

To avoid the need for surgical intervention, cholesterol can be managed and lowered in much less traumatic ways. The first course of action should be to have your cholesterol checked and monitored annually. If it appears to be high, a low cholesterol and low fat diet should be top priority. This should be combined with an extensive exercise program that strengthens the heart and naturally raises HDL cholesterol.