(Black PR Wire) Did you know that September is Cholesterol Education Month? Did you also know that LDL (bad) cholesterol can lead to build-up and clogging in the arteries? The higher the LDL levels are, the higher the chances that a person will get heart disease. It’s time to focus on cholesterol control!

Too many of us eat foods that are high in fat; foods that are creamy or greasy. This leads to high cholesterol and there becomes too much fat in our blood.  When this happens, we increase our chances of having heart attacks or strokes, two of the most common causes of death among African Americans.

This is why it’s important to get your cholesterol checked often. You should begin getting tested between the ages of 20 and 30. If your cholesterol is elevated, you may need to get it checked more often.

So, what are the risk factors for high cholesterol? High cholesterol can either run in the family, or it can be linked to:

• Eating too many foods high in fats
• Being diagnosed with diabetes
• Taking certain medications, including birth control pills and estrogen
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Not getting enough exercise and gaining too much weight
• Getting older
• Having gone through menopause
• Smoking—people who smoke and have high cholesterol are at even greater risk for heart disease.

Now that we know the risk factors, let’s aim for cholesterol control and try to manage our blood cholesterol levels better.