If you are overweight, losing weight will have no effect on your bad cholesterol level

This is untrue. Maintaining ideal body weight is a prerequisite for cholesterol management program. Losing weight if you are overweight can help lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. It is especially important for people who are obese or have too large a waist. Oversized waist is defined as a waist measurement of 40 or more inches for men and 35 or more inches for women.

Studies have shown that lowering bad cholesterol can prevent heart attacks

It has been noted that lowering bad cholesterol not only improves survival but also lowers chances of heart attack in both men and women. There is a direct mathematical correlation between levels of bad cholesterol and survival benefits.

How often should you get your blood cholesterol levels checked?

Every one who is 20 years or above should know the numerical value of his entire lipid profile. If the levels turn out to be normal they should be repeated at least, once in three to five years.

Presence of other risk factors determines relative risk of cholesterol threat to your heart and body

The same values which do not warrant treatment in somebody who does not have any risk factors may require aggressive treatment in someone with abundance of them. This infers that numerical values of your cholesterol reports are always judged by presence of risk factors. People who have high levels of bad cholesterol, but are without any risk factors may not require any medication.

Once you start taking cholesterol-lowering medicines, you can stop exercising

Even if you begin drug treatment, you will need to continue doing the good work. Healthy lifestyle habits such as abstinence from smoking, maintaining ideal body weight, avoiding extra calories, keeping check on blood pressure and blood sugar levels can not only lower your cholesterol; but also reduce risk of heart disease . In addition to this it can let you use a lower dose of your cholesterol-lowering medicines as well. Regular physical activity not only lowers bad cholesterol, but also raises good cholesterol, which is all the more healthy for the heart.