Cholesterol Numbers Tell The Tale When Assessing Coronary Risk


by Athlyn Green - Date: 2006-12-20 - Word Count: 629 Share This!

Cholesterol numbers tell the tale in relation to cardiovascular health and your risk of developing heart disease. It is important to get your blood levels checked to see what range you fall in.

Cholesterol travels through the blood via lipoproteins. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) deliver cholesterol to the body, while high-density lipoproteins (HDL) remove it from the bloodstream.

If your total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL, you would be considered to have levels within a safe range-these could be said to be normal cholesterol numbers.

If tests reveal a cholesterol level from 200 to 239 mg/dL, this would be considered to be borderline high risk.

In a more troubling scenario, if tests showed a level that was 240 or more, your cholesterol would be considered high. What cholesterol numbers mean in this case is that your risk of coronary heart disease is doubled and you could be the victim of a heart attack or stroke.

Your doctor will evaluate cholesterol numbers and other factors that may put you at risk. He will carefully consider Your LDL cholesterol level because the lower your LDL, the lower your risk. LDL is a better gauge of risk than total blood cholesterol.

LDL is believed dangerous because it can attach to the arterial wall, creating plaque. Most of us are aware that plaque can create blockages that result in heart attack or stroke. Normal cholesterol numbers would include LDL levels that are less than 100 mg/dL to 129mg/dL.

When we consider what cholesterol numbers mean, it is helpful to discuss high-density lipoprotein levels. Reduced levels of HDL put you at high risk for heart disease. For example, less that 40mg/dL would be considered low.

HDL is beneficial because it navigates in the bloodstream, picking up cholesterol and transporting it to the liver, so that it can be excreted from the body. HDL cholesterol levels range from 40 to 50 mg/dL for the average man and from 50 to 60 mg/dL for the average woman. These are desirable cholesterol numbers for HDL.

If there are imbalances in levels, your doctor will suggest strategies to achieve normal cholesterol numbers.

To put it in simple terms: too much LDL is bad for the body because it builds up in the arteries, while HDL is beneficial because it helps remove cholesterol from the bloodstream. The balance between the different forms of cholesterol is a reflection of what cholesterol numbers mean.

What can you do to bring levels back to normal? Adopting a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol is a good starting point. Exercising regularly and managing weight may all help to bring cholesterol numbers into a desirable range.

Natural supplements offer specific benefits by helping to reduce high levels of blood cholesterol or balancing levels naturally. In trials involving patients and use of natural products, normal cholesterol numbers were achieved.

Policosanol offers significant health benefits: decreasing total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) while increasing (HDL); fish oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA), offers proven benefits in relation to heart health-fatty acids may help to guard against degenerative changes in artery walls; beta-sitosterol has been shown to be effective in reducing blood levels of cholesterol; green tea extract reduces the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle that is seen with high concentrations of LDL; lecithin oil is beneficial for those suffering vascular disorders and heart disease, inhibiting absorption of cholesterol; and d-limonene, a compound found in orange peel oil, has also been found to reduce cholesterol.

Gaining an understanding of what cholesterol numbers mean can help you when making choices about lifestyle, diet, and use of natural therapies. These choices can have a significant impact on your present and future health.

Using common sense approaches, you can achieve desirable levels. Cholesterol numbers are a window on cardiovascular health, telling a tale that helps us to assess risk.


Related Tags: cholesterol numbers, normal cholesterol numbers, what cholesterol numbers mean

Athlyn Green is an avid health enthusiast with an interest in natural remedies for treatment of health disorders. She has contributed to Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis, a section of http://www.beat-your-depression.com dedicated to natural treatments and prescription drug alternatives for this disorder. Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

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