Home > Cholesterol > The Effects of Cholesterol Get the Flash Player to see this player. Rate: (Click the stars to rate) Published on Jul 06, 2009 by klocicero, Views: 4565 Having high cholesterol can affect many organs of the body. Atherosclerosis affects all of the blood vessels of the body. When the blood vessels are the arteries that supply the heart with blood, it can cause a heart attack. When is affects the arteries in the brain, it can cause a stroke.