February is heart health awareness month. One of the important risk factors for heart disease and heart attack is high cholesterol. It’s important to understand that all cholesterol is not created equal. Therefore, it is broken down into good and bad cholesterol. You can be proactive by visiting your primary care doctor and having your cholesterol checked. It is a simple battery of blood tests that typically include what’s known as a lipid profile. The results of the tests will include 4 numbers you need to know. Here are the individual tests and normal ranges you should fall within:
- Total cholesterol should be less than 200 mg/dL
- HDL-C (good cholesterol) should be higher the 40mg/dL for men and higher than 50mg/dL for women.
- LDL-C (bad cholesterol) should be less than 100 mg/dL
- Triglycerides should be less than 150 mg/dL
In this video, Dr. Ralph Vicari and Mrs. Michele Packard-Milam discuss the Cholesterol Counts initiative and important risk factors for heart disease.
Visit Cholesterol Counts to learn more about cholesterol screening and participate in the poll. If you are living with heart disease, visit Mended Hearts for patient support .
