Eye retina where cholesterol buildup can be seen.

High Cholesterol Symptoms Eyes

Your eyes see the world, but did you know that you can see cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure in your eyes? In every two out of the three people, cholesterol symptoms are first seen in their eyes by their ophthalmologist who may observe formations such as Retinal Vein Occlusion, Xanthelasma, Hollenhorst Plaque, and Circumferential Arcus to confirm cholesterol build-up.

You can See Cholesterol in Your Eyes

Usually, there are no symptoms of cholesterol and even high blood pressure in the early stages. It is the ophthalmologist who is the first one to suspect the symptoms of high cholesterol in your eyes and sends you for a further blood test to confirm. The ophthalmologist is usually right.

Even signs of allergies and cancer can be detected in the eyes, but we will focus here on the high cholesterol symptoms. Learn about remedies for high cholesterol here.

How High Cholesterol is Formed?

Cholesterol is produced by your liver. It is a waxy substance that is vital to develop and form cell membranes and certain hormones. It also forms vitamin D in the body.

Two elements of cholesterol are known as lipoproteins, one is called low-density lipoproteins LDL and the other is called high-density lipoproteins HDL help to transport cholesterol through the bloodstream.

Low-density lipoproteins or LDL are considered bad cholesterol as they tend to buildup on artery walls resulting in the narrowing of the arteries.

The high-density lipoproteins or HDL are considered good cholesterol. They help to bring back the LDL to the liver for elimination that is why doctors look at the ratio of LDL vs HDL to determine whether you will have heart disease or not.

Therefore, the focus should be to reduce the high LDL to HDL ratio by reducing LDL. Reduction in LDLwill also reduces total cholesterol. High total cholesterol levels usually do not produce any symptoms. That is why you do not see any symptoms until the damage is done by them in the form of plaque deposited in the arteries. A blood test is the only way to find out and confirm the cholesterol levels in the blood.

So, during one of your regular visits, your ophthalmologist may see early warning signals of high cholesterol supported by the blood test (1). You should feel lucky that you have caught the risk factor early so that you can take the required actions to control your rising cholesterol levels.

A rise in your cholesterol level is usually caused by the food choices you make. Certain foods are high in saturated fats and trans fats increase your blood cholesterol levels. Both saturated fats and trans fats are the main causes of high cholesterol in the bloodstream.

Your family history of high blood pressure and obesity also are some of the other contributing factors to increase cholesterol levels.

High cholesterol levels can cause high blood pressure and many diseases including diabetes, atherosclerosis, and kidney and eye diseases.

Impact of cholesterol on your eyes

Cholesterol buildup in your eyes can be a serious problem if not corrected timely. The symptoms are easy to identify. The first signs are dryness of the yes (1).

The visible build-up of cholesterol in your eyes is an early warning sign of various complications that may follow in the rest of your body due to cholesterol. Once the components of cholesterol particularly LDL and triglycerides begin to deposit on the inner lines of arteries, the advanced levels of complication begin. It is therefore important to maintain lower triglyceride levels.

Narrowed and clogged arteries restrict the blood flow to provide sufficient oxygen to the body cells causing fast degeneration. Arteries in the eyes begin to show the build-up in the early stages, that is why the ophthalmologist can see it first and warns you. Let us understand what your ophthalmologist sees in your eye.

Symptoms of Cholesterol in Your Eyes

The eye doctor will see many different formations in the eye to conclude the cholesterol buildup. Some of them are stated below:

1. Retinal Vein Occlusion

The retina is a layer of tissue at the back of your inner eye that converts light images to nerve signals and sends them to the brain.

When the small veins that carry blood away from the retina get blocked then it is called retinal vein occlusion which is a serious condition caused by atherosclerosis. It is a clear indication that cholesterol build-up in the blood vessels has reached a stage that can cause damage to your heart brain and kidneys as well

2. Xanthelasma

Xanthelasma is the formation of yellow patches on the inside corners of the eyelids. These patches are made up of cholesterol under your skin.

Xanthelasma is a rare condition. It is harmless and doctors can remove it.

This is also a very clear-cut indication of high levels of low-density lipoproteins or LDL in your bloodstream.

3. Hollenhorst Plaque

Hollenhorst plaque is a cholesterol embolus seen in a blood vessel of the retina.

It is an embolic disease related to carotid arterial disease. Hollenhorst plaque is caused by high cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension and can lead to temporary partial or complete blindness. The condition can be resolved by managing cholesterol.

4. Circumferential Arcus

eye opaque rings

Circumferential arcus senilis is a white grey or blue opaque ring in the corneal margins.

It is sometimes present at birth and gradually disappears. It is also present in old age, but when it is seen during the adult ages, it is usually an indication of high cholesterol in the blood. So you can see that cholesterol symptoms can be identified early in the eyes and sometimes even in the eyes it is already too late.

All these signs of high cholesterol in your eyes give you an early opportunity to take corrective measures particularly when you are blissfully unaware of the cholesterol levels in your blood. Your ophthalmologist visit most of the time not only helps you with your eye problem but as you can now understand that it can help you to improve your heart health too.