What Is The Impact Of High Cholesterol On Children’s Health?

High cholesterol usually causes no noticeable symptoms. A child may feel perfectly healthy even when LDL cholesterol is elevated.

However, persistently high LDL cholesterol can contribute to the buildup of plaque in the arteries. This process, called atherosclerosis, can begin during childhood and progress over time.

Possible long-term consequences include:

• Increased risk of coronary artery disease.
• Greater likelihood of heart attack and stroke in adulthood.
• Increased cardiovascular risk when high cholesterol occurs alongside diabetes, high blood pressure or other risk factors.

Early identification is especially important for children with a strong family history of premature heart disease or inherited high cholesterol.

Image credit: Image by ymyphoto from Pixabay (Free to use under Pixabay content license, Published on January 5, 2022)