Learn What Those Total Cholesterol Numbers Are
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
It can be very confusing to understand those numbers the doctor reads off your chart when he talks about cholesterol. HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. What does it all mean?
Unless you have never been to a doctor, you probably already know about the score of 200. We want to hear that our cholesterol is lower than that. That is normal and we understand it. Over 200 is a whole different story.
Often when we visit the doctor our only concern is that, the number is below 200. For many years, that was the gold standard in cholesterol testing. If the number was 200 or lower, great. If it was higher than 200, you have got some problems. The doctor may tell you to get more exercise, lose some weight and start taking this new prescription to lower your cholesterol.
Your total cholesterol is calculated by using the following formula:HDL (Good Cholesterol) + LDL (Bad Cholesterol) + VLDL = Your Total Cholesterol Number (TCL/TCN).
Total cholesterol is calculated using this formulas: HDL +LDL+VLDL=Total Cholesterol.
Therefore, a better explanation of the formula for calculating your total cholesterol number would most likely look this:HDL (Good Cholesterol) + LDL (Bad Cholesterol) + (Triglycerides ‘Fat’ / 5) = Total Cholesterol Number (TCL/TCN)
The doctor does not have to use calculus to find your total cholesterol number. If that number is well below 200, your doctor may congratulate you. If it is above 200 he may start a new medication or diet. If it has increased and is moving closer to the 200 mark, he may also give you a warning. You are better off knowing the number even if it is bad. Then you can start treatment.
In the US, cholesterol levels are expressed in mg/dL. The examples above are based on this measure. In the rest of the whole, cholesterol levels are expressed in mmol/l (millimoles per liter). To convert mg/dL to mmol/l simple divide by 39.
cholesterol HDL LDL
