In order to understand the risk that cholesterol poses to your health it is important to know all your numbers: Your surgery may only tell you there is nothing to worry about or they may only give you your total cholesterol (TC) figure. Be sure to ask them for all the results they have and keep a note of them. As a minimum you should know your total cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol (explained below). Don't worry if you get a high result as a diagnosis of high cholesterol cannot usually be made from the results of just one test. In the UK all cholesterol levels are measured in millimoles per litre (mmol/L) but in some countries they are measured in milligrams per decilitre (mg/dl). You can find out how to convert between these measures here.
- Total Cholesterol (TC) - this is the total amount of cholesterol in your blood. Ideally it should be 5 mmol/L* or less
- Non HDL-Cholesterol this is your total cholesterol minus your HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol) and is the sum all the "bad" cholesterols added together (including LDL cholesterol) - ideally it should be 4 mmol/L* or less
- LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C) - this is the amount of LDL-cholesterol), ideally it should be 3 mmol/L* or less
- HDL-Cholesterol (HDL-C) - the amount of good cholesterol, ideally it should be over 1 mmol/L* (men) and over 1.2 mmol/L* (women).
- TC:HDL ratio This is the TC figure divided by the HDL-C figure. A ratio above 6 is considered high risk - the lower this figure is the better.
- Triglyceride (TG) this represent your body's ability to clear fat from the blood after a meal. Ideally it should be less than 1.7 mmol/L* on a fasting sample or less than 2.3 mmol/L on a non fasting sample)
** mmol/L stands for millimoles per litre
If you have existing heart disease or are at a higher risk of developing heart disease, it is likely that your doctor will advise you to reduce your cholesterol further. It is best to discuss this with your doctor when he or she reviews your treatment. Any target cholesterol levels your doctor suggests will depend on the cause of your high cholesterol, your age and any other risk factors you have.
Now you know your levels you can enter them into the HEART AGE tool to find out your heart age
No comments:
Post a Comment