What Are the Symptoms of Cholesterol Problems? A high level of cholesterol in the blood doesn’t have obvious symptoms, but it can increase your risk for conditions that do have symptoms, including angina (chest pain caused by heart disease), high blood pressure, stroke, and other circulatory ailments.

What causes hypercholesterolemia?

Familial hypercholesterolemia is caused by a gene alteration that’s passed down from one or both parents. People who have this condition are born with it. This change prevents the body from ridding itself of the type of cholesterol that can build up in the arteries and cause heart disease.

What are the signs and symptoms of familial hypercholesterolemia?

Symptoms

  • Fatty skin deposits called xanthomas over parts of the hands, elbows, knees, ankles and around the cornea of the eye.
  • Cholesterol deposits in the eyelids (xanthelasmas)
  • Chest pain (angina) or other signs of coronary artery disease may be present at a young age.
  • Cramping of one or both calves when walking.

What happens if you have too little cholesterol?

Although the risks are rare, very low levels of LDL cholesterol may be associated with an increased risk of: Cancer. Hemorrhagic stroke. Depression.

Does cholesterol cause sleepiness?

Can High Cholesterol Make Me Tired? No, high cholesterol doesn’t usually cause fatigue, but it can lead to heart diseases, such as coronary artery disease, that do. With this heart condition, excess LDL builds up as plaque in your heart’s small arteries, causing them to narrow and stiffen.

What are the symptoms of FH?

These physical signs of FH occur when extra cholesterol builds up in different parts of the body:

  • Bumps or lumps around your knees, knuckles, or elbows.
  • Swollen or painful Achilles tendon.
  • Yellowish areas around your eyes.
  • A whitish gray color in the shape of a half-moon on the outside of your cornea.