When you discover that your LDL cholesterol level is high, many of us are inquisitive about how it got to that high level and then they ask, how to lower it.

The major reasons for a high LDL cholesterol level are: high blood pressure (more than 140/90 mmHg) or those on high blood pressure medication, a family history of early heart disease or of parents or siblings with high cholesterol levels (LDL), men who are 45 years of age or older and women who are 55 years of age and older, and those individuals who smoke tobacco products.