What is Cholesterol Ratios?
The American Heart Association recommends that your total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL. However many authorities on cholesterol believe that the total cholesterol level is just about worthless in determining your risk for heart disease unless it is very high - above 300.
A more important indicator is cholesterol ratios, more specifically your HDL/Cholesterol ratio and your Triglyceride/HDL ratio. They are a better indicator of your risk of heart attack.
Divide your HDL level with your total cholesterol level. That percentage should ideally be above 24 percent. Do the same with your triglycerides and HDL ratio. That percentage should be below 2.
This explains why there are those levels over 250 who actually were at low heart disease risk due to their HDL levels. Conversely, there are those who had cholesterol levels under 200 that were at a very high risk of heart disease.
Still, keep in mind, however, that these are still simply guidelines, and there’s a lot more that goes into your risk of heart disease than any one of these numbers.
They give you a closer idea of what’s going on, but they still do not show you everything.