Your toenails could tell you if you have high cholesterol

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

While the only surefire way to know if you have high cholesterol is with a blood test, keeping an eye on your toenails can be an early indicator.

A doctor has noted that the state of your toenails could show some wanting signs of high cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that can be found in your blood - having too much of it can cause heart complications and even lead to a stroke, as the Daily Record reports.

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High cholesterol has been linked to a high-fat diet, lack of exercise, being overweight, smoking and drinking alcohol.

While the NHS notes that high cholesterol can be serious, it does not cause obvious symptoms.

Dr Sami Firoozi, a consultant cardiologist at Harley Street Clinic, said there are two warning signs linked to high cholesterol that can be identified by looking at your toenails.

The two key signs to keep an eye out for are brittle toenails and slow-growing toenails.

This is because high cholesterol levels in the blood can cause peripheral aerial disease (PAD) where fatty deposits can block the arteries and stop blood from being supplied to the leg muscles.

Dr Firoozi said: "Although PAD is not immediately life-threatening, the process of atherosclerosis that causes it can sometimes lead to serious and fatal problems such as critical limb ischaemia which occurs if the blood flow to the legs becomes severely restricted."

Other symptoms include strong burning pains in the legs and feet when resting, skin turning pale , shiny, smooth and dry as well as loss of muscle mass in the legs.

Open sores could also appear on the feet and legs that do not heal while the skin on the toe turn cold, numb and red in colour or begins to swell and produce smelly pus.

Dr Firoozi said: "Your GP might