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 Cholesterol
and triglycerides are the two major fats in the blood. Blood fats are also called lipids. Your body makes cholesterol and gets it from food, then uses it to build cell membranes and hormones.
Cholesterol testing is an analysis of the cholesterol levels in a sample of your blood. High levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream can block blood flow and increase your risk of health problems such as atherosclerosis and coronary artery or carotid artery disease. These diseases increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Cholesterol is usually measured as total serum cholesterol. However, because the level of HDL cholesterol is so important, many doctors look at the ratio of the total cholesterol level to HDL cholesterol level to assess the risk of heart disease.
What does the test result mean?
In a routine setting where testing is done to screen for risk, the test results are grouped into three categories of risk:
- Desirable : A cholesterol below 200 mg (reflects a low risk of heart disease.)
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