In my pathophysiology class we're studying the cardiovascular system. In reading about blood and circulation and heart disease, it is enevitable that cholesterol and lipids (fats) gets drawn into the mix. Once of the signs and symptoms for coronary artery diesease (CAD) is dyslipidemia. Dyslipidemia is an abnormally (high) concentration of lipoproteins. A high concentration of lipoproteins is a modifiable risk factor for atherosclerosis (clogged arteries). One of the signs of dyslipidemia is the presence of xanthelasma, especially on the eyelids.
That got me worrying. See, I have this weird little growth on my lower eyelid. It doesn't affect my sight and the eye doctor told me it's nothing, not even a blocked tear duct. So as I'm reading about CAD and about the risk factors I come across genetic predisposition (paternal grandfather died of stroke, paternal uncle had a quadruple bypass at age 55, father had a quintuple bypass at age 53), diabetes (paternal uncle and father both diabetic) and the presence of dyslipidemia and xanthelasma. Ding ding ding!!! I figured we had a winner. I know I'm a woman, and in my early 30's but I was pretty convinced that I was going to keel over from a myocardial infarction (that's heart attack to you non-medical type) walking from the library to the classroom.
So I did a quick google image search on xanthelasma. Turns out I was jumping the gun. Here is what xanthelasma looks like:
Pretty nasty if you ask me. And fortunately nothing like what I've got on the rim of my lower eyelid.
Phew! That's one major disease down. Only 48,200,357 more to slog through!
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