Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in both men and women in the United States, according to statistics provided by the American Heart Association. Many factors, including cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels and blood pressure, contribute to an increased risk of developing heart disease. Monitoring these factors and understanding the relationship between the types of cholesterol, which include HDL and LDL, and triglycerides can help you maintain a healthy heart.
HDL Cholesterol
Cholesterol describes a waxy fat-like substance present in the body. Your body needs cholesterol to support cell membranes, to make hormones and for the production of vitamin D. The liver produces approximately 75 percent of your cholesterol while the other 25 percent comes from the foods you eat. To reach the cells throughout the body cholesterol must travel through the blood. Since cholesterol, a fat, and blood consisting of water do not mix, specialized proteins known as lipoproteins must carry the cholesterol. Low-density lipoprotein, LDL, carries the majority of the cholesterol while high-density lipoprotein, HDL, carries only one-fourth to one-third of the total cholesterol. HDL carries cholesterol back to the liver where it gets broken down and excreted from the body, giving it the label of "good" cholesterol.
Triglycerides
Although similar, triglycerides and cholesterol are two different types of fat. Your body converts unused calories into triglycerides and stores it in the fat cells. During times of low energy intake, your body releases the triglycerides to burn for energy. If you consistently consume more calories than your body can burn, which leads to obesity, your triglycerides levels will likely rise. Healthy triglyceride levels should remain less than 150 mg/dL, according to MayoClinic.com.
Relationship
Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, lack of physical activity and excessive alcohol intake contribute to increasing levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. These same factors cause HDL levels to decrease. Therefore, as triglyceride levels increase, HDL levels typically decrease. The exception to this general rule occurs when a mutation in a specific gene causes low HDL cholesterol levels. In this case, a study published by "The Journal of the American Medical Association" reveals that patients with low levels of HDL due to the genetic factor still exhibit low levels of triglycerides.
Heart Disease
To monitor your risk for developing heart disease doctors can perform a lipid panel blood test which provides information on your total cholesterol level, your LDL level, your HDL level and your triglyceride level. Because HDL helps the body remove excess cholesterol, high HDL levels protect your body from the onset of heart disease while low HDL levels along with the corresponding high triglyceride levels increase your risk for heart disease. In contrast, low HDL levels with low triglyceride levels that occurs due to genetic factors does not increase your risk of heart disease, according to "The Journal of the American Medical Association."
References
- American Heart Association: Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health Fact Sheet
- MayoClinic.com: Triglycerides
- Children's Hospital Boston: LDL, HDL and Triglycerides
- American Heart Association: What Your cholesterol Levels Mean
- "Journal of American Medical Association": Association of Loss-of-Function Mutations in the ABCA1 Gene With High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels and Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease; Dr. Frikke-Schmidt et. al.; June 4, 2008
