Understanding Your Cholesterol Level

Knowing your cholesterol level is extremely important for many reasons. One of the main reasons is because having a high cholesterol level can make you really prone to diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. Obesity is one of the common causes of high cholesterol level. However, even if you are not overweight, it does not mean that your cholesterol level is under control.

Finding Out Your Cholesterol Level

Many things should be taken into consideration when finding out about cholesterol level. This include understanding the fact that there are both good and bad types of cholesterol. There is HDL cholesterol, which is known as the good type of cholesterol, and there is LDL cholesterol which is known as the bad cholesterol.

Basically you can belong into either one of three categories in regards of cholesterol level. The three categories are: desirable, borderline risk, or high risk. If your cholesterol level is less than 200mg/dL, you are considered as being in the desirable category, and your risk of heart attack is rather low if you do not have other risk factors involved.

If your cholesterol level is in between 200 and 239mg/dL, you are considered as being in the borderline risk category. About a third of all people belong in this category. If you are in the borderline risk category, you should check your cholesterol level at least once a year. This is especially so if your HDL is less than 40mg/dL even if you do not have other risk factors for heart disease.

Lastly, if your cholesterol level more than 240mg/dL, you are considered as being in the high risk category. Your risk of heart attack and stroke is incredibly high. You also have twice the risk of other coronary problems if you are in this category. That is why you should take this situation very seriously.

The key point to remember here is that your total cholesterol level will be lower the lower your LDL cholesterol is. So, you should take all of the possible measures to keep your LDL cholesterol as low as possible. However if you find that you are still not able to lower your cholesterol level, medications may be prescribed by your doctor to assist you in this process.

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