HIGH BLOOD CHOLESTEROL

High blood cholesterol and triglycerides
Definition
The medical term for high blood cholesterol and triglycerides is lipid disorder. Such a disorder occurs when you have too many fatty substances in your blood. These substances include cholesterol and triglycerides.
Alternative Names
Lipid disorders; Hyperlipoproteinemia; Hyperlipidemia; Dyslipidemia; Hypercholesterolemia
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
A lipid disorder increases your risk for atherosclerosis, and thus for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure (hypertension), and other problems.
There are many types of cholesterol. The ones talked about most are:
Total cholesterol - all the cholesterols combined
HDL cholesterol - often called "good" cholesterol
LDL cholesterol - often called "bad" cholesterol
There are several genetic disorders (passed down through families) that lead to abnormal levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. They include:
Familial combined hyperlipidemia
Familial dysbetalipoproteinemia
Familial hypercholesterolemia
Familial hypertriglyceridemia
Abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels may also be caused by:
Being overweight or obese. See: Metabolic syndrome
Certain medications, including birth control pills, estrogen, corticosteroids, certain diuretics, beta blockers, and certain antidepressants
Diseases such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, Cushing syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome, and kidney disease
Excessive alcohol use
Fatty diets that are high in saturated fats (found mainly in red meat, egg yolks, and high-fat dairy products) and trans fatty acids (found in commercial processed food products)
Lack of exercise
Smoking (which reducess HDL "good" cholesterol)
Lipid disorders are more common in men than in women.
Signs and tests
See Coronary risk profile for information on when to be tested.
Tests to diagnose a lipid disorder may include:
HDL test
LDL test
Lipoprotein-a analysis
Total cholesterol test
Triglyceride test
Treatment
Treatment depends on your age, health history, if you smoke, and other risk factors for heart disease, such as:
Diabetes
Poorly controlled high blood pressure
Family history of heart disease
The recommended values for adults are different depending on the above risk factors, but in general:
LDL: 70-130 mg/dL (lower numbers are better)
HDL: more than 40-60 mg/dL (high numbers are better)
Total cholesterol: less than 200 mg/dL (lower numbers are better)
Triglycerides: 10-150 mg/dL (lower numbers are better)
There are steps that everyone can take to improve their cholesterol levels, and help preven
...
Continue reading this article
More Articles
LDL test (2 Videos, 1 Image) (Doctor-Reviewed information)LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein. It's also sometimes called "bad" cholesterol. Lipoproteins are made of fat and protein. They carry cholesterol, triglycerides, and other fats, called lipids, in the blood to various parts of the body. This a...Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 05/02/2009Email Save
HDL test (2 Videos, 1 Image) (Doctor-Reviewed information)HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein. It's also sometimes called "good" cholesterol. Lipoproteins are made of fat and protein. They carry cholesterol, triglycerides, and other fats, called lipids, in the blood to various parts of the body. This...Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 05/02/2009Email Save
VLDL test (1 Image) (Doctor-Reviewed information)VLDL stands for very low density lipoprotein. Lipoproteins are substances made of cholesterol, triglycerides, and proteins. They move cholesterol, triglycerides, and other lipids to different parts of the body. There are three major types of lipop...Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 05/02/2009Email Save
Cholesterol test (2 Videos, 2 Images) (Doctor-Reviewed information)A total cholesterol test is a rough measure of all the cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood. Cholesterol is a soft, wax-like substance found in all parts of the body. Your body needs a little bit of cholesterol to work properly. But too muc...Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. Date: 05/02/2009Email Save
Familial hypercholesterolemia (4 Images) (Doctor-Reviewed information)Familial hypercholesterolemia is a condition passed down through families in which a person has high levels of "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoprotein, or LDL) beginning at birth. The condition can cause heart attacks at an early age. See also:...Reviewer: A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Greg Juhn, MTPW, David R. Eltz. Previously reviewed by Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network (1/23/2008).Date: 09/12/2008Email Save
Familial combined hyperlipidemia (1 Image) (Doctor-Reviewed information)Familial combined hyperlipidemia is a disorder of high cholesterol and high blood triglycerides that is passed down through families.Reviewer: Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 01/23/2008Email Save
Fat free diet and children (1 Image) (Doctor-Reviewed information)Children over age of 2 can eat low-fat and nonfat foods. Fruits and vegetables are healthy snack foods. Children should be taught healthy eating habits early, so they may continue them throughout life.Reviewer: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 05/02/2009Email Save
Margarine vs. butter (1 Video, 1 Image) (Doctor-Reviewed information)Is margarine healthier than butter? Neither is ideal, because butter is loaded with saturated fat, and almost all margarines have some saturated fat and trans fatty acids. However, if you must use one or the other, margarine may be better than but...Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 05/03/2009Email Save
Tips for losing weight (20 Videos, 10 Images) (Doctor-Reviewed information)To successfully lose weight, you must carry out a plan that balances the calories you eat every day with your activity and exercise. Ideally, dieting should be done by eating a nutritionally balanced, low-calorie diet and increasing physical activ...Reviewer: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine. Date: 10/18/2009Email Save
Use Healthline to search the web for more Cholesterol information.
Health Videos
How Can Cholesterol Management Help Prevent Heart Disease in Wom... How Can Cholesterol Management Help Prevent Heart Disease in Women?Email Save play video
Cholesterol Health It's THE VAP TEST - Vertical Auto Profile. It surfaced a decade ago and is emerging as the preferred choice to check cholesterol levels.Email Save play video read transcript
Cholesterol Management Cholesterol ManagementEmail Save play video read transcript
HIV and Cholesterol HIV and CholesterolEmail Save play video read transcript
How High Cholesterol Harms You How High Cholesterol Harms YouEmail Save play video read transcript
Heart Disease Prevention Heart Disease PreventionEmail Save play video read transcript
Dementia Could be Linked to High Cholesterol A study finds having high cholesterol in midlife raises the risk of dementia later in life.Email Save play video read transcript
Do You Know Your LDL Number? Do You Know Your LDL Number?Email Save play video read transcript
School Lunches Are Getting Healthier Fewer middle schools across the country are serving candy and soda in their cafeterias.Email Save play video read transcript
Studies Show Eating Chocolate Could Help Your Heart Eating chocolate is good for your heart.Email Save play video read transcript
Cutting Salt Intake Could Lower Healthcare Costs in the US Cutting salt intake can help keep Americans healthy, and lower healthcare costs.Email Save play video read transcript
Is Fried Butter a Heart Clogger? Brendan Higgins reports on the Texas State Fair, the culinary debut of fried butter, and one boy's invention of the Fried Butter Dance.Email Save play video read transcript
US States Are Not Meeting Veggie Consumption Goals No state is meeting CDC goals for fruit and vegetable consumption.Email Save play video read transcript
Obesity Could Be Linked to a Gene Researchers have found a gene in mice that, when turned off, keeps them thin despite being fed a high-fat diet.Email Save play video read transcript
FDA Has Issues New Food Regulations The FDA has created the Reportable Food Registry, where food industry officials are required to alert the FDA quickly about any products that might cause h...Email Save play video read transcript
Calorie Tracking Is Key to Weightloss Losing weight can sometimes turn into a losing battle; but doctors and experts insist that diet and exercise is the key to losing weight.Email Save play video read transcript
Extra Fat Could Create Stem Cells Those extra fat cells you've been trying to lose could be put to good use- as stem cells.Email Save play video read transcript
Dream Dinners A company provides customers with all the ingredients they need to prepare a delicious meal at a fraction of the cost of perparing it at home.Email Save play video read transcript
When You Eat May Be More Important Then What You Eat New research suggests it's not just what you eat, but when you eat that either helps or hinders you from losing weight.Email Save play video read transcript
A Healthy Drink Is Marketed to the Religious Several pastors have begun preaching about nutrition, rather than just spiritual health.Email Save play video read transcript
Food Tips: Marination Secrets Here are some cooking secrets for making the perfect marinade for all types of meat, poultry, and fish.Email Save play video read transcript
Anorexic Weightlifter A woman who battled anorexia now uses weightlifting to help control her food disorder.Email Save play video read transcript
Doctors Are Frustrated With Obese Patients A new study of doctors shows many are frustrated when treating obese patients.Email Save play video read transcript
Ladies Night Diet Attention ladies: Girls Night Out may be good for your social life, but it could be bad for your waistline! NBC's Meredith Land reports.Email Save play video read transcript
Obese People Live Up to 12 Years Less Than Normal People who are obese live three to twelve fewer years than normal weight adults.Email Save play video read transcript
Those Who Do Yoga More Liekly To Eat Better People who practice yoga are more likely to be mindful eaters.Email Save play video read transcript
Dr. Nancy Snyderman Reports on Vitamin D and Kids Who Don't Get ... NBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman reports that kids are not getting enough Vitamin D from sunlight.Email Save play video read transcript
Pill Pounds Packing on pounds recently? It could be your medication. NBC's Jane McGarry reports.Email Save play video read transcript
Truvia is a New Sugar Substitute Truvia is a new low-calorie sweetner on the market. Diana Gonzalez reports on the latest sugar substitute.Email Save play video read transcript
Fitmate Helps People Track Their Proper Calorie Count A small device could help people lose or just maintain their weight.Email Save play video read transcript
An Experimental Drug Could Help Obesity An experimental obesity drug is proving to be effective in 3 late-stage clinical trials.Email Save play video read transcript
Fructose Sugar Could Impair Your Memory Eating a diet high in fructose could impair your memory.Email Save play video read transcript
Popcorn Could Be Healthy as Fruit Your snack food may be giving you the same amount of antioxidants as fruit, according to new research from the University of Scranton.Email Save play video read transcript
Obesity As the health care debate rages on in Washington -- tonight, new research shows obesity in America is not just dangerous -- it's expensive!Email Save play video read transcript
The Back-to-school Physical The Back-to-school PhysicalEmail Save play video read transcript
Pot Belly - In Fashion? Pot belly's may be on the way to becoming sexy... or maybe not.Email Save play video read transcript
The Infamous Freshman 15 The first semester of college is a huge time of transition for students... and one of the biggest challenges actually occurs outside of the classroom. NBC'...Email Save play video read transcript
Organic Food May Not Be Any Healthier Than Regular Food Organic food doesn't appear to be nutritionally superior to conventionally produced food.Email Save play video read transcript
Health Experts, Healthline's Network of Health Experts
Cholesterol Lowering Plants in The Diet Dish - 2 years 60 days ago

Plant sterols have been found in research studies to help lower LDL, or "bad," cholesterol by blocking its absorption. If enough sterols are consumed in th... Email Save
Cholesterol and Statins in Tech Medicine - 3 years 213 days ago

The thought is that by reducing your bad cholesterol, you won't have excess cholesterol to absorb into the lining of your arteries that form plaques, or ha... Email Save
Keep Your Heart Healthy in The Diet Dish - 1 year 63 days ago

People who have a total cholesterol above 240 mg/dl have twice the risk of coronary heart disease as people whose level is desirable (less than 200 mg/dl). Email Save
google_hints = "Cholesterol";
var btk1 = "";
var btk2 = "";
document.write('');
-->
document.write('Bookmark this page')
Bookmark this page

hs_q1(document.sf2.q1,false);
Home About Health Experts Careers Site Map Feedback Help Health Tools Tell a Friend Advertise Terms of Use Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2005 - 2010 Healthline Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
var tcdacmd="dt";
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js' %3E%3C/script%3E"));
COMSCORE.beacon({
c1:2,
c2:6035868,
c3:"",
c4:"",
c5:"",
c6:"",
c15:""
});