How to Get a Cholesterol Profile

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Patients with high cholesterol are more likely to get heart disease and suffer heart attacks. The most common cause of high cholesterol is eating a diet that is high in saturated fat. A person's cholesterol profile is determined by undergoing a series of tests to measure the levels of cholesterol found in their blood.

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Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Ask your doctor to perform a total cholesterol test. This test is very basic and shows if your cholesterol is high or low. The results are used to start building your cholesterol profile. For most individuals, total cholesterol less than 200 mg is ideal.
Step 2

Get further testing done. After the initial results, your doctor may decide to order a lipoprotein analysis. This blood test measures the LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol) levels in the blood. The results of all the blood tests are combined to determine your cholesterol profile.
Step 3

Repeat the tests regularly. Your cholesterol profile is likely to change often in your lifetime in response to diet changes and aging. If the results of your blood tests show that you have high cholesterol, your doctor is likely to first request that you make dietary changes. If this does not improve the numbers in your cholesterol profile, then you may have to go on medication.