The term hyperlipidemia is composed of “hyper” (too much, excessive), “lipid” (fat) and “-emia” (in the blood) and describes an excess of fats in the blood. In common parlance, the term “high blood lipid levels” is also used. Various fats are found in the blood: neutral fats, cholesterol and lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are protein particles that transport the fats in the blood. There are various subgroups of them.
Causes
Hyperlipidemia is actually a symptom of an underlying disease or the symptom of metabolic overload. The metabolism can be overloaded by poor nutrition (too many calories, too much fat) and an unfavorable lifestyle without sufficient exercise. For example, the level of neutral fats in the blood drops after just one single exercise.
The level of neutral fats is largely determined by the diet. The cholesterol level in the blood, on the other hand, is largely hereditary and can only be influenced to a lesser extent by diet. Hyperlipidemia is a common symptom of the metabolic syndrome, which also includes obesity, impaired glucose tolerance or insulin resistance or diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure.
In the metabolic syndrome, neutral fats and LDL cholesterol are elevated, but the “good” HDL cholesterol is lowered. Hyperlipidaemia in pregnancy is completely normal due to the change in metabolism to a certain extent. Other causes of hyperlipidemia are high alcohol consumption, chronic liver and kidney diseases or hypothyroidism.
The intake of various medications can also cause hyperlipidemia. These include cortisone preparations, beta-blockers, the contraceptive pill and hormone replacement products in post-menopausal women. A person’s blood lipid levels increase with age.
The risk is higher for men than for women: The age-related increase in cholesterol levels (especially “bad” LDL cholesterol) occurs more quickly in them. In addition, genetic factors cause them to have a lower level of “good” HDL cholesterol. In addition to these forms of hyperlipidemia triggered by disease, diet or lifestyle, there is a broad spectrum of hereditary hyperlipidemias.
For example, in familial hypercholesterolemia, an inherited genetic defect results in the formation of fewer or no LDL receptors on the cells, causing LDL to accumulate in the blood. In most cases, this disease is inherited by different genes, about 0.2% of the population is affected. Inheritance by only one gene is also possible. About one person in a million is affected.
