Total Cholesterol

Total cholesterol is the sum of all the cholesterol in the blood. High total cholesterol level, means greater the chances for heart disease.

The total cholesterol reading does not tell everything and could be hazardous to the health or a cause of undue alarm.

It is assumed that one with total blood cholesterol level below 200 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter) were at a lower risk for heart disease than those who has 200 mg/dl and above.

Understant total cholesterol

But the actual thing is different than these assumptions; just see below said example discussion for details.

• Two types of cholesterol: Good cholesterol or high density lipoprotein (HDL) and a bad cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL). What really turns out to be important is not the total of HDL and LDL, but its ratio.
• For example, one has a total cholesterol number of 161, considered as good because it is lower than standard that is less than 200 mg/dl. But, if the HDL contributes only 15 points of that total, then as per The National Cholesterol Education Panel suggestion; the HDL levels below 35 mg/dl as a major risk factor for heart disease. So one with a total reading of 161 might be at the very opposite end of the risk scale than one thought.
• Another example, one has a total cholesterol reading of 229, considered as bad because it is higher than the standard that is more than 200 mg/dl. But, if the HDL contributes some 68 points of that total, then as per The National Cholesterol Education Panel suggestion; the HDL levels above 60 is recognized as actually lowering the risk of atherosclerosis, thus lowering the causes of heart attacks. So one with a total reading of 229 might be at the opposite end of the risk scale than one thought.

Total cholesterol calculation

Formula for the calculation on total cholesterol is as below:

TC = LDL + HDL + (Triglycerides/5)

Where us TC is total cholesterol, LDL is low density lipoprotein and HDL is high density lipoprotein.

Cholesterol HDL ratio

Total cholesterol to HDL ratio is calculated by dividing total cholesterol by HDL cholesterol.

For example, if a person has a total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL and an HDL cholesterol level of 50 mg/dL, the ratio would be 4:1. The goal is to keep the ratio below 5:1; the optimum ratio is 3.5:1.

Low ratio indicates lower risk of heart attack, while high ratio indicates higher risk. The total/HDL becomes low for low total cholesterol and high HDL cholesterol values.

LDL to HDL ratio

LDL to HDL cholesterol ratio is calculated by diving LDL cholesterol by HDL cholesterol values.

Low ratio indicates lower risk of heart attack, while high ratio indicates higher risk. The LDL/HDL becomes low for low LDL and high HDL cholesterol values.

Next High Cholesterol Guidelines