Cholesterol is a waxy substance produced by your liver and also ingested in the food you eat. While you need cholesterol to build and maintain healthy cells, excess cholesterol can accumulate on the inside of your arteries, reducing blood flow to vital organs like the heart and brain. Cholesterol management is a key component of heart health.
Identification
When you sit down with your doctor to read your blood cholesterol results, you'll see columns with abbreviations and numbers. Since cholesterol is a fatty substance that doesn't dissolve in your bloodstream, it's carried around by substances called lipoproteins. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as the "good" cholesterol, while low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is the "bad" cholesterol. Your total cholesterol is the sum of your HDL, LDL, a genetic variation of LDL called Lp(a) cholesterol and fats known as triglycerides.
Significance
When LDL is high, these substances build up on the inside of the arterial walls and increase your risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke. Although the role of HDL is not yet fully understood, most experts think it helps carry excess cholesterol to the liver so it can be eliminated from the body. Others believe HDL may be actually pull cholesterol out of the plaques on your arterial walls, according to the American Heart Association.
Established Values
When you're reading the results for your total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, smaller numbers are better, says the Adult Treatment Panel III. Aim for a total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dL, know that values between 200 and 239 mg/dL are borderline high and consider readings of 240 mg/dL and above as high. Optimal LDL levels are below 100 mg/dL, 100 to 129 mg/dL are near optimal/above optimal and LDL readings between 130 and 159 mg/dL define the borderline high category. An LDL reading between 160 and 189 mg/dL is considered high, while values greater than 190 mg/dL are very high. When you're looking at HDL results, higher numbers are better. Shoot for an HDL of 60 mg/dL and remember that values below 40 mg/dL are unhealthy.
Considerations
Your blood cholesterol level will be lower than normal if you're ill, stressed or recovering from a heart attack. You should wait at least six weeks after these events before going in for a cholesterol blood draw, according to Lab Tests Online.
Tips
Cholesterol levels fluctuate normally over time. If your cholesterol readings are outside of the established normal values, your doctor may order another test several weeks to several months later rather than starting treatment right away, says Lab Tests Online.
