What is the Difference Between Hypercholesterolemia and Dyslipidemia

The key difference between hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia is that hypercholesterolemia is a condition due to high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood, while dyslipidemia is a condition due to high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, or fats phospholipids in the blood.

A lipid disorder is characterized by high blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides, or both. Hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia are disorders due to high levels of lipids in the blood. Both these conditions can be treated through specific medications and lifestyle changes.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hypercholesterolemia
3. What is Dyslipidemia
4. Similarities – Hypercholesterolemia and Dyslipidemia
5. Hypercholesterolemia vs Dyslipidemia in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Hypercholesterolemia vs Dyslipidemia

What is Hypercholesterolemia?

Hypercholesterolemia is a medical condition that is due to a high level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. This condition can be caused by a familial link, a diet high in saturated fats, lack of exercise, tobacco products, obstructive liver disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism, anorexia nervosa, chronic kidney failure, nephrotic syndrome, medicines like amiodarone, rosiglitazone, cyclosporine, and hydrochlorothiazide. The risk factors for this condition may include age (older than 40), being Asian, Indian, Filipino, or Vietnamese in descent, post-menopausal, being a woman or person assigned female at birth, having high blood pressure, having a family history of premature atherosclerotic heart disease, diabetes, and low levels of HDL. If a person has 130mg/dL of LDL concentration with two of the above risk factors, they are considered to be suffering from hypercholesterolemia. Moreover, the symptoms of hypercholesterolemia may include cholesterol deposits in eyelids (xanthelasma) or connective tissue (xanthoma), chest pain, and stroke.

Hypercholesterolemia can be diagnosed through physical examination, routine blood analysis (lipid panel), and genetic testing. Furthermore, treatment options for hypercholesterolemia may include exercising more, staying at a healthy weight, eating foods low in saturated fats, lowering stress levels, taking cholesterol-lowering medicines (statin), controlling blood sugar levels, and having lipoprotein apheresis.

What is Dyslipidemia?

Dyslipidemia is a medical condition that is due to high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, or phospholipids in the blood. Dyslipidemia is generally caused by cigarette smoking, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, consumption of foods high in saturated fat and trans fat, and excessive alcohol consumption. The risk factors for this condition may include advanced age, sex (women suffer more), genetic link, and other medical conditions like type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism, and chronic kidney disease. The symptoms of dyslipidemia include leg pain, chest pain, tightness in the chest, tightness in the neck, jaw, shoulders, and back, indigestion, sleep problems, dizziness, heart palpitation, cold sweats, vomiting, nausea, swelling in the legs, ankles, stomach, and veins of the neck, and fainting.

Furthermore, dyslipidemia can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, blood tests, and genetic tests. The treatments for dyslipidemia may include medications like statins, ezetimibe, niacin, fibrates, bile acid sequestrants, evolocumab and alirocumab, lomitapide and mipomersen, reducing consumption of unhealthy fats, exercising regularly, maintaining healthy body weight, reducing alcohol consumption, quitting smoking, avoiding sitting for a long period of time, increasing consumption of healthy polyunsaturated fats, taking omega-3 oil in capsule form, eating plenty of dietary fiber, getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night, and drinking plenty of water.

What are the Similarities Between Hypercholesterolemia and Dyslipidemia?

• Hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia are due to high levels of lipids in the blood.
• Both conditions can be predominantly seen in women and older people.
• They may have similar symptoms like chest pain, leg pain while walking, etc.
• They may lead to complications like heart attack and stroke.
• They can be diagnosed through physical examination and blood tests.
• Both these conditions can be treated through specific medications and lifestyle changes.

What is the Difference Between Hypercholesterolemia and Dyslipidemia?

Hypercholesterolemia is a condition due to a high level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood, while dyslipidemia is a condition due to a high level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, or fat phospholipids in the blood. Thus, this is the key difference between hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia. Furthermore, hypercholesterolemia is a more common condition, while dyslipidemia is a less common condition.

The below infographic presents the differences between hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Hypercholesterolemia vs Dyslipidemia

Balancing lipid levels is an important part of being healthy. This is because abnormal levels of lipids can cause complications such as fat deposits in artery walls. Hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia are disorders due to high levels of lipids in the blood. Hypercholesterolemia is due to the high level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood, while dyslipidemia is due to the high level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, or fat phospholipids in the blood. So, this summarizes the difference between hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia.

Reference:

1. “Hypercholesterolemia: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.
2. “Dyslipidemia: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Atherogenic Dyslipidemia. The lipid profile which is typical for patients with type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome” By Almoisten – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “LAL-D Diagnostic Pathway” By Alexion Pharmaceuticals – (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia