Thursday, October 10, 2013

Getting Tested for LDL Cholesterol - Should You?

LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and is also known as the bad cholesterol. High LDL cholesterol levels indicate the need for a change in your lifestyle because in some extreme cases, it may just lead to heart attack, stroke etc. Because of this, you might want to know how to reduce your LDL cholesterol. In order to treat high LDL levels of cholesterol, medication may be prescribed.

The LDL or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or the bad cholesterol has been many times involved with subjects such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, arthrosclerosis and stroke. You can significantly reduce the risks of heart attack and stroke occurring by lowering your LDL cholesterol. Cholesterol is a wax fatty substance that has the tendency to accumulate in the arteries walls. This may lead to the formation of plaques which generates a disease called atherosclerosis.

When should you get your cholesterol levels tested?

In order to make lifestyle changes to protect your health and your heart, high LDL cholesterol levels in your bloodstream should serve as a severe warning. Cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliters of blood and is detected through normal blood tests.

Generally, you should get tested for cholesterol numbers at least once a year, but lately, this has been changed to every 5 years for women over the age of 55 and for men, over the age of 45. The testing should be made every 5 years only if there are no other risk factors available. By making changes in your lifestyle such as including lots of physical activity, losing weight, cutting down on sweets and ceasing cigarette smoking, you can manage your LDL levels.

In addition to all of the above, dietary changes are also highly recommended since an optimal LDL cholesterol diet would try to substitute foods that contain saturated fat with foods that contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. In some cases, medications may be required and they may result in significant reductions in the LDL levels. In treating high LDL levels, statin drugs have been proven to be very effective.

Total cholesterol level should be kept somewhere below 200 mg/dl. HDL and LDL cholesterol levels are most of the time measured together. 100 to 129 milligrams per deciliter is considered to be near optimal or above optimal while the portion of total cholesterol considered optimal is less than 100 milligrams per deciliter. Whenever LDL levels reach 160 milligrams per deciliter to 190 milligrams per deciliter. it means that they are too high.








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