Cholesterol Levels

Most people have heard about how much cholesterol they have, and been rather worried when they hear that they might be having high cholesterol levels, and the reasons for these fears are sound and worth taking seriously, because if you have high cholesterol, you would be at greater risk of suffering from heart attacks, heart diseases as well as from strokes. It thus behooves you to maintain proper cholesterol levels, so that you are less at risk with regard to your overall health.

Measured In Milligrams

Cholesterol can be measured in milligrams, and there are several factors on which the cholesterol levels can be based upon such as your race, gender, health, age as well as family history and even on the fact that you are a smoker or have high blood pressure, or are obese or overweight and even when you are diabetic, and the type of exercises that you perform.

You need to worry about two different types of cholesterol that are LDL (low density lipoprotein) or bad cholesterol, and HDL (high density lipoprotein) or good cholesterol, and to ascertain the different cholesterol levels, your doctor would test you so that information is obtained with regard to LDL and HDL cholesterol levels.

Some people may have cholesterol levels that are not more than two hundred milligrams, and they will not be at much risk of developing heart diseases, though when the cholesterol levels rise above two hundred milligrams, it is considered as being a borderline high case provided it does not exceed two hundred and thirty-nine milligrams.

A level above two hundred and forty milligrams is considered as high cholesterol and at these levels you would be twice more at risk of contracting heart diseases as compared to the lower cholesterol levels. Other determinants with regard to risk factors for your medical health include the level of HDL in your body, and low HDL levels are nothing to be concerned about, while high HDL levels are a reason for concern.

Normal cholesterol levels are dependent on a number of factors including genes, culture and even age and of course, the level should be below two hundred milligrams to not have anything to worry about. As far as LDL cholesterol levels go, the normal range is below one hundred and thirty, while if it rises to above one hundred and sixty, it is considered as being high. In the case of HDL cholesterol levels, normal is about thirty-five while optimum level is anything over sixty milligrams.

Recommended Reading:

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