How a moon shape in your eye could be warning sign of silent killer

Elevated cholesterol levels are one of the main causes of heart disease.

And with the disease affecting almost 40 per cent of the UK population, we cannot ignore it.

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For most people, lifestyle factors like a poor diet are to blame, but for some, genetics can also cause high cholesterol — known as familial hypercholesterolemia (FH).

Cholesterol is a substance found in fats that the NHS says is needed to build healthy cells.

When cholesterol builds up in blood vessels, it can cause painful blockages.

Many people with high cholesterol don’t actually know they have the condition until they either get tested or have similar health problems.

But those who have FH can often spot signs of the condition before dangerous health problems arise.

And one such red flag is a crescent shape that forms in the eye.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) described this as: “A crescent-shaped whitish-gray color on the outside of your cornea.”

It is said that this occurs when extra cholesterol builds up in the body.

“Your doctor may be able to identify physical signs of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) during a clinical exam, although not everyone with FH has these signs,” he explains.

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

In addition to the appearance of the characteristic arc shape, Heart UK says other physical signs of FH are:

• Swollen tendons in the knuckles of your hands and your Achilles tendon at the back of your ankle
• Raised, pale, yellowish patches around your eyes and on your eyelids

What Are the Dangers of Too Much Cholesterol?

High cholesterol can build up in the arterial walls and reduce blood flow to the heart.

This increases the risk of a clot forming around the body and also developing coronary artery disease.

According to the NHS website, high levels can lead to:

• narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis)
• Heart attack
• stroke
• Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) – often known as “mini-stroke”
• peripheral arterial disease (PAD)

What is the best way to lower cholesterol?

Reducing cholesterol to the level we were born with reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by a third, a study from Imperial College London found.

There are a number of ways you can trim, including:

• Eat a healthy, low-fat diet
• Replace saturated fat with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
• stop smoking
• Do sports regularly

What is an ideal safe cholesterol level?

The unit used to measure cholesterol levels in blood is millimoles per liter of blood (mmol/L).

Your cholesterol level should be:

• 5 mmol/L or less for healthy adults
• 4 mmol/L or less for high-risk individuals

When it comes to measuring LDLs, the values ​​should be:

• 3 mmol/L or less for healthy adults
• 2 mmol/L or less for high rise individuals