How Do My Cholesterol Levels Affect My Treatment?
To select the most effective treatment for you, your doctor will look at your cholesterol levels as well as your other risk factors. In general, if you have no signs of coronary heart disease, called CHD, and you don't have diabetes, doctors consider that the following levels increase your risk for CHD:
- total cholesterol of 240 mg/dL or more
- LDL - known as bad cholesterol - of 160 mg/dL or more
- HDL - known as good cholesterol - of less than 40 mg/dL
- trigycleride level of 200 mg/dL or more
Your doctor will also consider each of your levels in relation to the others. LDL cholesterol level is a better predictor of heart attack than total cholesterol is. So doctors rely heavily on it when selecting treatment. If you have two or more risk factors for heart disease, your doctor will want to:
- keep your total cholesterol and LDL much lower
- keep your HDL higher
This will be true if you have diabetes or heart disease, too.
For a more detailed chart of desirable, borderline-risk, and high-risk cholesterol levels, see What Do My Test Results Mean?