A cholesterol blood test is is a barometer of your heart health and will give you the one piece of crucial information upon which you can base your future heart-smart decision.
Doctors recommend to start getting your cholesterol checked when you reach 35 years.
A cholesterol test involves having a small amount of blood drawn from your arm, which is than analyzed in laboratory.
Stanford University Medical Center recommends these numbers:
Total cholesterol level – recommended range – below 200 mg/dl, ideal levels – 160 mg/dl.
HDL (healthy) cholesterol level (men) – recommended range – above 45 mg/dl, ideal levels – above 45 mg/dl.
HDL cholesterol level (women) – recommended range – above 55 mg/dl, ideal levels – above 55 mg/dl.
LDL (lethal) level (men and women) – recommended levels – below 130 mg/dl, ideals levels – below 100 mg/dl.
Total cholesterol/HDL ratio (men) – recommended levels – below 4.5, ideal levels – the lower the better.
Total cholesterol/HDL ratio (women) – recommended levels – below 3.5, ideal levels – the lower the better.
- Your total cholesterol gives you overall picture of the amount of cholesterol circulating in your bloodstream. The recommended level is under 200 mg per deciliter (dl), but studies show that heart attacks almost never occur when the cholesterol level drops to the 160 mg per dl range.
- The LDL (lethal) cholesterol reading indicates how much of the harmful cholesterol (the type that promote development of plaque in arteries) you have. The recommended reading is below 130 mg per dl and the ideal reading is under 100 mg per dl. Some recommend LDL reading under 80 mg per dl.
- The HDL (healthy) cholesterol reading indicates how much good cholesterol (the type that prevents plaque from forming) you have. This number should at least be above 45 mg per dl for men and 55 mg per dl for women – and the higher the better.
- Total cholesterol to HDL ratio should be between 3.5 and 4.5. Studies show that ratios above 4.5 double your risk of suffering heart attack. The ideal ratio is below 3.5 and ideally as low as you can get it.