How to Get Healthy Cholesterol Levels

The American Heart Association recommends that all adults age 20 and over have their cholesterol checked every five years. The cholesterol test, also called a lipid panel or lipid profile, checks four items: LDL, or bad cholesterol; HDL, or good cholesterol; total cholesterol; and triglycerides. The numbers help your doctor determine your risk for heart disease when considered with other risk factors, such as obesity, smoking and diet and exercise habits.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Ask your doctor to order a lipid profile, or cholesterol blood test. This can be done with any routine blood work that your doctor recommends, or it can be performed on its own.

2. Fast, or abstain from eating and drinking, for 9 to 12 hours before you have your blood drawn. This will ensure the accuracy of the LDL cholesterol numbers and triglyceride numbers. If you do not fast, only the HDL cholesterol numbers and total cholesterol numbers will be accurate.

3. Ask your doctor to help you interpret the numbers determined by your test. If your total cholesterol numbers are over 200 mg/dL, you may be at a borderline-high or high risk of developing heart disease.

4. Consider lifestyle changes if you need to lower your cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends weight loss, smoking cessation, exercising more and eating more fruits and vegetables. If your total cholesterol level was very high, talk to your doctor about medication that may help to bring your levels down.

5. Return to your doctor as recommended to re-check your cholesterol levels. Decide together what your next steps toward lowering your cholesterol, if any, will be.

Tips & Warnings

• The American Heart Association recommends that some people have their cholesterol levels checked more often than five times per year. These people include women over the age of 50, men over the age of 45, those with high total cholesterol, those with low HDL cholesterol and people with other risk factors for heart disease.