Symptoms
During the first years of hypercholesterolemia, patients do not show any visible symptoms. This is often a chance finding, which is determined during a general medical check-up. Here clearly increased Cholesterinwerte fall into the eye.
The consequences of an increased total cholesterol and an increased LDL value manifest themselves insidiously. LDL cholesterol circulating in the blood is deposited on the walls of the arteries. As the process continues, so-called plaques develop, which are accompanied by hardening and thickening of the artery walls.
These plaques are the starting point of symptomatic hypercholesterolemia. Complaints as a secondary symptom occur depending on the arteries affected. Angina pectoris complaints are closely related to the increasing calcification of the coronary arteries.
They are usually load-dependent and occur in the heart region or in the area behind the breastbone. The oxygen requirement of the heart muscle increases with movement. If the supplying vessels are no longer supplied with sufficient blood due to the vessel deposits, this leads to an oxygen deficiency in the muscle (ischemia).
Burning, stabbing, sometimes cramp-like pain is the result. If the diameter of the vessel narrows further, this results in persistent ischemia. This is a myocardial or heart attack, which is a life-threatening event for the person affected.
It is often triggered by a blood clot that has formed on arteriosclerotically altered vessel walls. Typical symptoms include chest pain radiating into the upper left half of the body, sweating and nausea.A stroke (apoplexy) can also be a consequence of arteriosclerosis caused by hypercholesterolemia. Usually it is an ischemic stroke with acutely reduced blood flow to the brain.
This can be caused, among other things, by vasoconstriction of the supplying arteries or clogging blood clots. Neurological symptoms in the form of visual, speech and word finding disorders are observed. Dizziness, paralysis of various parts of the body can also occur.
If the vessels supplying the heart and brain are narrowed, peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD) is often present at the same time. The decreasing vessel diameter of the leg arteries initially causes no symptoms and is often only noticed in more advanced stages. Affected patients complain of decreasing pain-free walking distances and feel severe pain with increasing skin involvement even at rest in late stages.
The small arteries of the kidneys can also be affected by the fat deposits. As a result, increased pressure is necessary for the complete blood supply to the kidney. In the course of time, this leads to arterial hypertension (high blood pressure) and can terminate in kidney failure.
Pure familial hypercholesterolemia occurs untreated with additional visible symptoms. These include so-called xanthelasma and xanthomas. These are the slightly yellow spots on the eyelids and similarly colored nodules on the skin. Furthermore a yellowish ring around the iris of the eyes can be observed.
