Hypercholesterolemia is a lipid disorder in which your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad cholesterol, is too high. This makes fat collect in your arteries (atherosclerosis), which puts you at a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular disease, which is the reason for more deaths than anything else in the world.

Risk factors include:

• Age.
• High blood pressure.
• Family history of premature atherosclerotic heart disease.
• Diabetes.
• Low levels of HDL (“good cholesterol”).