Can High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels Affect Your Heart?

how blood pressure & cholesterol levels affects your heart

Key highlights or summary

  • High blood pressure damages the walls of the arteries.
  • High cholesterol triggers the formation of plaque buildups that narrow the blood vessels of the heart.
  • Get your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked routinely.
  • Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet can help you lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels and keep your heart healthy.

Meet our expert

Meet our expert

Rate our article

We'd love to know!

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 1

How was the experience with article?

We'd love to know!

  1. New ACC/AHA High Blood Pressure Guidelines Lower Definition of Hypertension - American College of Cardiology. (2017, November 13). American College of Cardiology; www.acc.org.
  2. Wu, C. Y., Hu, H. Y., Chou, Y. J., Huang, N., Chou, Y. C., & Li, C. P. (2015). High Blood Pressure and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortalities in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Medicine, 94(47), e2160.
  3. National High Blood Pressure Education Program. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Bethesda (MD): National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (US); 2004 Aug. Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Risk.
  4. Soliman G. A. (2018). Dietary Cholesterol and the Lack of Evidence in Cardiovascular Disease. Nutrients, 10(6), 780.
  5. Cholesterol Levels: What You Need to Know: MedlinePlus. (2020, October 2). Cholesterol Levels: What You Need to Know: MedlinePlus; medlineplus.gov.
  6. McBride P. (2008). Triglycerides and risk for coronary artery disease. Current atherosclerosis reports, 10(5), 386–390.
  7. Nelson R. H. (2013). Hyperlipidemia as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Primary care, 40(1), 195–211.
  8. Bailey, A., & Mohiuddin, S. (2021, October 1). Biochemistry, High Density Lipoprotein Article. Biochemistry, High Density Lipoprotein Article; www.statpearls.com.
  9. Association A.H. Diet and Heart Disease. American Heart Association; Dallas, TX, USA: 1968.
  10. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) Final Report. NIH Pub. No. 02-5215. Bethesda, MD: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; 2002.
  11. Maintain a Healthy Weight. (n.d.). Maintain a Healthy Weight; www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  12. How much sodium should I eat per day? | American Heart Association. (n.d.). How Much Sodium Should I Eat per Day? | American Heart Association; www.heart.org. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  13. Sacks FM, Svetkey LP, Vollmer WM, et al. Effects on blood pressure of reduced dietary sodium and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. DASH-Sodium Collaborative Research Group. N Engl J Med. 2001;344(1):3-10. doi:10.1056/NEJM200101043440101
  14. Nettleton JA, Brouwer IA, Geleijnse JM, Hornstra G. Saturated Fat Consumption and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Ischemic Stroke: A Science Update. Ann Nutr Metab. 2017;70(1):26–33. doi:10.1159/000455681
  15. Things you need to know about blood pressure and hypertension. (2006). The Canadian journal of cardiology, 22(7), 601–602.
  16. Martinez-Quinones, P., McCarthy, C. G., Watts, S. W., Klee, N. S., Komic, A., Calmasini, F. B., Priviero, F., Warner, A., Chenghao, Y., & Wenceslau, C. F. (2018). Hypertension Induced Morphological and Physiological Changes in Cells of the Arterial Wall. American journal of hypertension, 31(10), 1067–1078.

Frequently asked questions

Get the information you need.

High blood pressure can damage the arteries, making them less elastic, which reduces the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

High levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol can lead to the buildup of plaques in the arteries, which can restrict blood flow and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Yes, adopting a healthy diet, regular exercise, quitting smoking, and reducing alcohol intake can significantly help manage both high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

High blood pressure often has no symptoms, which is why it’s called the “silent killer.” High cholesterol also typically has no symptoms and is usually detected through a blood test.

Regular check-ups can help monitor blood pressure and cholesterol levels, allowing for early intervention and management to prevent heart disease.