Want more iVillage? Sign up for our
Newsletters
High Cholesterol - Exams and Tests
- Overview
-
Health Tools
- FAQs
- Cause
- Symptoms
- What Happens
- What Increases Your Risk
- When to Call a Doctor
- Exams and Tests
- Treatment Overview
- Prevention
- Making Lifestyle Changes
- Medications
- Other Treatment
- Other Places To Get Help
- Related Information
- References
- Credits
A simple blood test tells you if you have high cholesterol.
- A simple cholesterol test can measure total cholesterol and HDL. You can eat before this test. Sometimes doctors do this test first.
- A lipoprotein analysis, also called a fasting cholesterol test, is a more thorough test. It measures your total cholesterol plus your LDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels. It is called a fasting test because you don't eat for 9 to 12 hours before the test.
- A direct LDL test measures your LDL level only. You can have this test done at any time, no matter when you last ate.
Your total cholesterol level is important. But your levels of LDL, HDL, and triglycerides help your doctor decide if you need treatment for high cholesterol. Your doctor will also consider your overall health and your risk of heart attack.
What do your cholesterol numbers mean?
The following tables will help you understand the results of your cholesterol tests. All numbers are milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), but most people just say the numbers.
Total cholesterol
Your total cholesterol number shows if your cholesterol is too high. If you have high cholesterol, your doctor will want to know your LDL and HDL levels before deciding whether you need treatment and what sort of treatment you need.
| High | 240 or above |
| Borderline-high | 200 to 239 |
| Best | Less than 200 |
LDL (bad) cholesterol
You want your LDL level to be low. But how low your LDL should be depends on your risk of heart attack. This table shows the LDL levels for someone with an average risk of heart attack.
| Best | Below 100 |
| Near best | 100 to 129 |
| Borderline-high | 130 to 159 |
| High | 160 to 189 |
| Very high | 190 and above |
Your LDL goal may be lower if your heart attack risk is higher than average. (To find out your risk, see the Interactive Tool: Are You at Risk for a Heart Attack? 
)
Your doctor will help decide what your LDL goal is and if you need any treatment to lower your LDL. The higher your risk of heart attack, the lower your LDL goal.
HDL (good) cholesterol
You want your HDL level to be high. HDL (good) cholesterol goals are different for men and women. But for everyone, the higher your HDL, the better. HDL over 60 helps protect against a heart attack. HDL below 40 increases your risk of heart problems. A high HDL number can help offset a high LDL number.
| Best | 60 or higher protects against heart disease |
| Good | 40 or higher |
| Bad | Below 40 |
Triglycerides
You want your triglyceride level to be low.
| Normal | Less than 150 |
| Borderline-high | 150 to 199 |
| High | 200 to 499 |
| Very high | 500 or higher |
Your risk level
When you visit your doctor to talk about your cholesterol test, you will talk about other things that increase your risk for heart problems. These include:
- Smoking.
- Diabetes.
- High blood pressure.
- A family history of high cholesterol and heart attack.
If your risk is high, or if you already have heart problems, your doctor will be more likely to prescribe medicine along with lifestyle changes. For more information about heart disease, see the topic Coronary Artery Disease.
Other tests
- You may need other tests to find out if another health problem, such as hypothyroidism, is causing your high cholesterol.
- A C-reactive protein (CRP) test may be done for some people who are at risk for getting coronary artery disease. A special type of CRP test, the high-sensitivity CRP test, can help find out your chance of having a sudden heart problem, such as a heart attack. This test may be done even if you have a normal or low level of LDL cholesterol.
More information |
Early Detection
Some doctors recommend that everyone older than 20 be checked for high cholesterol. How often you need to be checked depends on whether you have other health problems and your overall chance of heart disease. For more information, see:
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: April 22, 2011 |
| Medical Review: | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Carl Orringer, MD - Cardiology, Clinical Lipidology | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:
- Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
- Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
- Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.
The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.
How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?
Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.
How do I save content to my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.
How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.
How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.
To manage your Care Circle, Please
Sign In.
