What your Cholesterol Numbers Really Mean?
You hear a lot of talk these days about cholesterol numbers. People with high cholesterol are at greater risk of heart disease. But what do the cholesterol numbers really mean?
The body produces three substances that are included in the total blood cholesterol. HDL (good) cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and triglycerides (fats) make up the total serum cholesterol in the bloodstream. Ideally, a person should have a total cholesterol below 200 mg/dl. However, this number can be misleading.
The ratio of HDL (good) cholesterol to LDL (bad) cholesterol - known as cholesterol ratio - is more important than the total serum cholesterol number. While LDL cholesterol and triglycerides tend to build up in the arteries and cause heart disease, HDL cholesterol helps to keep the arteries clear and reduce the risk of heart disease
Therefore having a high total cholesterol number may be acceptable as long as the ratio of HDL to LDL is high. On the other hand, a person can have a low total serum cholesterol number, yet is at a high risk of developing geart disease if the ratio of HDL to LDL is very low. This is further compounded if the LDL level is very low.
Your doctor is the best person to help you analysis the different components of the total serum cholesterol number to determine if they are at a healthy level and whether changes are needed to be made in diet and exercise or medication prescribed to adjust the levels of cholesterol in the blood.
Solely basing decisions on the total serum cholesterol alone is incorect.