The excess accumulation of cholesterol can lead to a stroke or heart attack. This happens because the build-up of excess cholesterol begins to clog the blood vessels leading to arteriosclerosis. It is believed that the overall incidence of strokes and heart attacks could be reduced by as much as 50% if Americans could reduce their cholesterol level by 25%.
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If your total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL, your heart attack risk is relatively low, unless you have other risk factors. Even with a low risk, it's still smart to eat foods low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, and also get plenty of physical activity. Have your cholesterol levels measured every five years — or more often if you're a man over 45 or a woman over 55. 
In order to understand why it is important to lower cholesterol, it is necessary to first understand what cholesterol is. Cholesterol is a fatlike waxy substance and is produced by the liver. Although cholesterol has purposes and is important to overall health and body function, too much cholesterol in the body has damaging effects. 
Close to 107 million U.S. adults have cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher, a level that the American Heart Association says increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. At least 12 million of these people are taking statin drugs to lower their cholesterol levels, but there are more natural options out there. 
As part of your regular checkup, it is likely that the doctor will order bloodwork that among other things will measure your levels of total cholesterol and also High Density Lipoproteins (HDL). Should the numbers show outside of the normal range, your doctor may ask for a fasting cholesterol test. For this, you won't eat or drink other than water for twelve hours prior to the test. 
What can you do to improve your cholesterol levels? Here’s a quick list to get you started: * Reduce fat in your diet; *Buy the leanest cuts of meat you can find. Regularly substitute poultry (without the skin) and fish for red meat. Both are lower in saturated fat. Switch to low fat cottage cheese and yogurt, reduced fat hard cheeses and skim or 1 percent milk. 
Red Yeast Rice has been an ancient, Asian dietary staple. It was made by fermenting white rice with the red yeast, Monascus Purpureus. The low cholesterol levels found in the Chinese population, led to discovering the benefits of red yeast rice consumption. Today, this natural cure has made its name as a cholesterol and triglyceride lowering agent, without the problems and side effects of the traditional statin drugs.