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What You Should Know About Cholesterol Testing
Laurence Clunie

When should I undergo a test? What would the results say about my health? How many tests are there and which will give me the best results?

Unlike any other health tests, testing does not diagnose disease. Instead, it reveals the risks of developing heart disease. testing is considered necessary in preventive health care for individuals over 20 years of age. The test should be repeated once every five years for healthy individuals.

Cholesterol testing, along with HDL, LDL and triglyceride testing is called the lipoprotein profile.

Cholesterol testing is done several times a year for individuals who are on a prescribed diet and for those who are taking lowering medications.

Usually blood samples are drawn from the arm. Sometimes blood samples are taken from the fingertip. The samples are analyzed by a testing device. tests are used to monitor the progress in lowering the level.

Test results are grouped in three types:

* Desirable – the level of 200 mg/dL below is regarded to be desirable because it has a low risk of heart disease.

* Borderline high - a total level of 200 mg/dL to 240 mg/dL is at fair risk of having heart disease. Your doctor may decide to give you have a lipid profile in order to determine which level is high.
* High Risk – a 240 mg/dL level is considered to be at high risk of heart disease. Expect a lipid profiling if your level is this high. It is more likely that you will be given a lowering medication along with a low diet.

Cholesterol tests are usually given when the individual is healthy because the blood level of an individual who has an acute illness, (after a heart attack or after surgery or accident) is likely to be low. Individuals are advised to wait at least six weeks after any illness before taking tests. Pregnant women are also advised to wait six weeks before having their level measured.

A Brief Explanation of Ratios:

Cholesterol ratios consist of total cholesterol. Total includes low level lipoprotein levels (LDL cholesterol), triglycerides and high density lipoprotein level (HDL cholesterol).

Cholesterol is measured by milligrams of per deciliter of blood (mg/dL). Usually, only the total amount is given when a person is tested for cholesterol. Sometimes you are given the HDL and the total results.

The desirable total level is 200mg/dL and the beneficial amount of HDL is more than 40mg/dL.

There are two important ratios. These they are LDL/HDL ratios and total cholesterol/HDL ratios.

In the latter ratios, your result is given by the total divided by the HDL cholesterol. According to the American Heart Association, the desirable amount should be below 5:1 with the optimal amount of 3.5:1 or 3.5 to 1.

The LDL/HDL is done by dividing LDL by the HDL cholesterol. The desirable amount in this ratio should be 3.5 below. The American Heart Association recommended that physicians must use complete numbers for total cholesterol/HDL in determining the appropriate treatment.

A normal level as suggested by the National Institute of Health:
* total - 200mg/dL
* LDL – 100mg/dL
* HDL (man) – 40mg/dL above
* HDL (woman) – 50mg/dL above
* Triglycerides – 150mg/dL

It is important to remember to fast the night before, prior to taking a lipid profile test (a test that profiles the HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol) the next day.

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