What Is High Blood Cholesterol?

Cholesterol

What Is High Blood Cholesterol?

Cholesterol levels are determined through chemical analysis
of a blood sample taken from a finger prick or from a vein
in the arm.

Home cholesterol kits, first approved in 1993, test only for
total cholesterol levels but are as accurate as tests done
in a doctor's office, says Steven Gutman, M.D., director of
FDA's division of clinical laboratory devices.

"These tests can give a consumer very valuable
information when screening for high cholesterol," he says.
"But they shouldn't be considered substitutes for a test
conducted in a doctor's office."

He adds that if test results are elevated, consumers should
see a doctor right away for a more refined blood analysis.

The National Cholesterol Education Program considers
cholesterol testing in a doctor's office to be the preferred
way because the patient can get advice immediately about the
meaning of the results and what to do.

Besides determining total cholesterol levels, doctors often
order a lipoprotein profile that shows the amounts of LDL,
HDL, and another type of blood fat called triglycerides.

This information gives doctors a better idea of heart disease
risk and helps guide any treatment. Cholesterol levels are
measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

The National Cholesterol Education Program developed the
following classifications for people over age 20 who do not
have heart disease:

" Desirable blood cholesterol--
Total blood cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL; LDL is lower
than 130 mg/dL. "

Borderline high cholesterol--Total level is between 200 and
239 mg/dL or LDL is 130 to 159 mg/dL. " High blood cholesterol
--Total level is greater than 240 mg/dL or LDL
is 160 mg/dL or higher.

For patients with heart disease, LDL above 100 mg/dL is too
high. In addition, an HDL level less than 35 mg/dL is
considered low and increases the risk of heart disease.

The main goal of cholesterol treatment is to lower LDL in
people without heart disease. If the LDL level is in the
"high" category and fewer than two other risk factors for
heart disease are present, the goal is an LDL level lower
than 160 mg/dL.

If two or more risk factors are present, the goal is less than
130 mg/dL. If a patient already has heart disease, LDL levels
should be 100 mg/dL or less.

By reducing LDL, heart disease patients may prevent future heart
attacks, prolong their lives, and slow down or even reverse
cholesterol buildup in the arteries, according to the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute documentation.

Check it out for yourself.



Cholesterol