**Cholesterol and the Heart**

**Chapter 6**

**Provisional chapter**

**Role of Cholesterol as a Risk Factor in Cardiovascular**

**Role of Cholesterol as a Risk Factor in Cardiovascular** 

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in adult population in the world. The disease includes numerous problems, many of which are related to a process called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a condition that develops when a substance called plaque builds up in the walls of the arteries. This plaque narrows the arteries, making it harder for blood to flow through. If a blood clot forms, it can stop the blood flow. This can cause a heart attack or stroke. There are many risk factors associated with cardio vascular disease (CVD). While some risk factors cannot be changed, such as family history, some of them can be modified with treatment such as abnormal blood lipid and sugar levels, obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure. Research makes it clear that abnormal blood lipid (fat) levels have a strong correlation with the risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack and coronary death. Cholesterol plays detrimental roles in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and CVD. In this chapter, we aim to summarize the

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a group of disease which contains coronary artery disease, carotid artery disease, upper and lower extremity disease, and renal arterial diseases. The main cause of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases is the atherothrombotic process that occurs with atherosclerotic plaque rupture. Atherosclerosis is a chronic lipid-associated inflammatory disease concomitant with intimal thickening, especially involving bifurcation regions where endothelial damage is particularly high. Hypertension, hyperlipidemia,

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.76357

Eyup Avci, Ahmet Dolapoglu and Didar Elif Akgun

Eyup Avci, Ahmet Dolapoglu and Didar Elif Akgun

relationship between blood cholesterol levels and CVD.

**Keywords:** cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76357

**Diseases**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

**Diseases**

#### **Role of Cholesterol as a Risk Factor in Cardiovascular Diseases Role of Cholesterol as a Risk Factor in Cardiovascular Diseases**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.76357

Eyup Avci, Ahmet Dolapoglu and Didar Elif Akgun Eyup Avci, Ahmet Dolapoglu and Didar Elif Akgun

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76357

#### **Abstract**

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in adult population in the world. The disease includes numerous problems, many of which are related to a process called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a condition that develops when a substance called plaque builds up in the walls of the arteries. This plaque narrows the arteries, making it harder for blood to flow through. If a blood clot forms, it can stop the blood flow. This can cause a heart attack or stroke. There are many risk factors associated with cardio vascular disease (CVD). While some risk factors cannot be changed, such as family history, some of them can be modified with treatment such as abnormal blood lipid and sugar levels, obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure. Research makes it clear that abnormal blood lipid (fat) levels have a strong correlation with the risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack and coronary death. Cholesterol plays detrimental roles in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and CVD. In this chapter, we aim to summarize the relationship between blood cholesterol levels and CVD.

**Keywords:** cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis
