High cholesterol is one of those health issues that often develops quietly. You may feel perfectly well, yet changes inside your blood vessels can already be underway.
That’s why preventive care plays such an important role in living healthily for longer. Not just for older adults, but for younger families with children and teens too.
Cholesterol levels can shift gradually with age, lifestyle, hormones, and genetics, often without obvious warning signs.
But seeing primary care doctors in Dallas regularly allows patterns to be identified early. Long before cholesterol levels begin to affect your heart and vascular health or contribute to serious complications.
For families, this continuity of care matters even more. Habits established earlier in life often carry forward into adulthood.
The key to testing and advising about your cholesterol levels is your primary care team.
If you don’t already have a primary care physician, our dedicated family health clinics in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are all easy to access, and offer same-day appointments to suit your lifestyle.
But let’s start with understanding exactly what cholesterol refers to.
Understanding Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in your blood. Your body needs some cholesterol to function, but too much of certain types can increase the risk of heart disease over time.
A standard blood panel looks at different components, including LDL (“bad” cholesterol), HDL (“good” cholesterol), and triglycerides. Your primary care provider helps interpret these numbers in context – not in isolation. That means taking into account your age, your medical history, and your overall health.
Persistently high levels of LDL cholesterol can contribute to the gradual buildup of fatty material inside your arteries.
Over time, this can interfere with healthy blood flow and increase the likelihood of serious heart-related complications. How this risk develops can vary between women and men, which we’ll explore shortly.
But first, people often ask us, is high cholesterol inherited?
Is High Cholesterol Genetic?
Public messaging often focuses heavily on diet, which can make it surprising to learn that cholesterol levels are not determined by food alone.
For some individuals, genetics plays a significant role. If close family members have a history of elevated cholesterol or early heart disease, your own risk may be higher.
This is one reason doctors for high cholesterol often recommend earlier or more regular screening, even for people who otherwise feel well.
Symptoms of Raised Cholesterol in Females
The warning signs people usually hear about are not symptoms of raised cholesterol itself, but of cardiovascular disease that can develop after cholesterol has been elevated for some time. These include:
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Unexplained fatigue (more on this later)
- A high blood pressure reading
- Evidence of poor circulation
Hormonal shifts during pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause may have influenced your cholesterol levels without causing any of these symptoms – even though your lifestyle habits remain the same.
So, the first you may know about high cholesterol levels as a woman can be a heart attack. This is partly because women may develop cardiovascular disease differently, with changes in smaller blood vessels and less obvious early blockage.
In men, the pattern is often different.
What Men Should Know About Cholesterol Risk
Men may develop cholesterol-related risks earlier in adulthood, particularly when combined with factors such as family history or limited physical activity. Like women, they often feel well even when levels are elevated.
But when cholesterol really builds up in their arteries, they often get the symptoms we mentioned – due to the fatty blockage.
So, men often present acutely rather than via routine primary care. You’ll likely have heard about men needing stents after presenting with symptoms caused by significant arterial narrowing.
In many cases, underlying cholesterol issues surface at that point. And the diagnosis of seriously raised cholesterol leads to treatment.
Why You Often Miss Symptoms
As we said, one of the challenges with cholesterol in the earlier stages is that it rarely causes obvious symptoms. You may only discover elevated levels after a routine screening.
Some people ask us whether fatigue can be related. Can high cholesterol cause fatigue?
On its own, no. Cholesterol doesn’t usually create noticeable tiredness. However, raised cholesterol often exists alongside other health factors – such as blood pressure changes or metabolic issues. And these may affect your energy levels.
This is another reason testing matters more than waiting for symptoms.
Cholesterol Screening for Children and Teens
Cholesterol isn’t only an adult issue. In some cases, early screening is recommended for children and adolescents, especially when there’s a strong family history of cholesterol or heart disease.
In addition, rising rates of childhood overweight mean it’s increasingly important to consider cholesterol risk early to protect their future health.
Your primary care doctor can advise when testing makes sense and how they interpret results at younger ages.
The goal is not to label children, but to guide healthy development and reduce future risk in your family.
How Doctors Test For High Cholesterol
A test for high cholesterol is simple and widely available through our primary care clinics in Dallas and Carrollton. It usually involves a blood draw, sometimes after fasting, depending on what your doctor recommends.
A high cholesterol blood test provides a snapshot of current levels and helps establish a baseline for future comparison. Over time, trends often matter more than a single number.
That’s because primary care doctors support cholesterol management by looking at the whole person, not just lab results.
This includes discussing lifestyle factors, monitoring changes over time, and determining when additional support or referrals may be appropriate.
The good thing is that having an ongoing relationship with a primary care doctor in Dallas that your family trusts makes it easier for you to stay proactive. You can ask questions and adjust your lifestyle as your circumstances change.
When to Talk to Stella Mattina About High Cholesterol
At Stella Mattina, we specialize in excellent preventive care for women and for all your family. If you’re searching for primary care doctor Dallas, look no further.
When you haven’t had recent blood work, simply want a clearer picture of your heart health, or have a family history of high cholesterol issues, it may be time to schedule a visit with us.
Don’t forget that symptoms may only appear after your cholesterol levels have risen beyond what’s healthy! So stay proactive and make an appointment at your chosen location today.
Dr. Gonzalo Venegas
Gonzalo Venegas, MD is the Medical Director of Stella Mattina Health and a respected obstetrician-gynecologist with over four decades of service in the Dallas medical community. He has led the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Methodist Dallas Medical Center and contributed to community health through his role on the Parkland Health & Hospital System Board. A dedicated mentor at UT Southwestern, Dr. Venegas is known for his leadership, compassion, and commitment to advancing women’s health and medical education.