The ‘silent’ symptom of dangerously high cholesterol that shows on your TOES – and 3 other signs

BECAUSE high cholesterol typically doesn’t cause symptoms, people tend to be unaware they have it unless they have a blood test.

But cardiologists say there are some telltale signs you can spot if your levels are too high, which could indicate something isn’t quite right.

Cholesterol is a natural fatty substance in your blood which is produced by the liver and some of the foods you eat – everybody needs some of it to keep cells in their body healthy, according to the British Heart Foundation.

Having high cholesterol means you have too much of the fatty substance in your blood.

This can clog up your arteries and raise your risk of having a heart attack or stroke if left untreated.

Dr Sami Firoozi, consultant cardiologist at the Harley Street Clinic, said an unusual sign of the condition can actually show up in your toes.

He told Huffington Post that brittle or slow-growing toenails can be a tell-tale sign of too high cholesterol.

This is because the fatty build-up in your arteries could cause peripheral arterial disease (PAD), meaning blood supply to your legs is constricted.

According to the NHS, other PAD symptoms include:

• painful aches in your legs when walk, which disappear with rest
• hair loss on your legs and feet
• numbness or weakness in the legs
• open sores on your feet and legs, which don’t heal
• the skin colour on your legs turning paler than usual or blue – this may be harder to see on brown and black skin
• shiny skin
• in men, erectile dysfunction
• the muscles in your legs wasting

These symptoms will usually emerge slowly over time, it said.

You can develop high levels of cholesterol is you eat too much saturated fat, aren’t very active or you smoke.

You’re also more likely to get it as you age and it’s more common in men.

But some people familial hypercholesterolaemia, meaning they inherit high levels of cholesterol through faulty genes.

If your family has passed high cholesterol down to you, you may have these visible signs:

1. Tendon xanthomata

Your cholesterol levels might lead to swelling in your knuckles, knees or backs of the ankles.

2. Xanthelasmas

This refers to small yellow lumps of cholesterol near the inner corner of your eye.

3. Corneal arcus

A a pale ring might appear around your iris, which is the coloured part of your eye.

What’s a safe level of cholesterol?

The way you can measure blood cholesterol levels is using the unit millimoles per litre of blood (mmol/L).

Your levels of cholesterol should be:

• 5mmol/L or less for healthy adults
• 4mmol/L or less for those at high risk

When it comes to measuring low-density lipoproteins – this is what’s referred to as ‘bad cholesterol’ – the levels should be:

• 3mmol/L or less for healthy adults
• 2mmol/L or less for those at high risk

What’s the best way to lower cholesterol?

Cutting back cholesterol to the levels we were born with reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by a third, a study found.

There are a number of ways you can cut back, including:

• Maintain a healthy diet which is low in fatty food
• Swap saturated fat for fruit, veg and wholegrain cereals
• Give up smoking
• Take regular exercise