The Importance of Cholesterol Screening

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Dr. Susan Jewell on behalf of Expert Village today; I'm going to talk to you about cholesterol. And in this clip we are going to talk about screening and what the medical profession would recommend to you in terms of your cholesterol level at a certain number when you're going for a cholesterol test. Now it's recommended by the profession, medical profession that men should get a screening when they're between the age of twenty to thirty-nine years old every year annually a cholesterol screening and then after that every five years. Now that's if you are healthy, relatively healthy with no cardiovascular problems. Now for women who are healthy with no cardiovascular problems they recommend at the age of forty to forty-nine years of age to get an annual screening for cholesterol level and then if your numbers are okay within the normal range then they recommend every five years. Now total cholesterol as I mentioned in an earlier clip is, is the definition is LDL, which is the bad cholesterol plus HDL, which is the good cholesterol. The sum of the two cholesterol categories and if it's less than two hundred then they say we test every five years. So if LDL which is the bad cholesterol you are trying to keep down low as possible in your system. If it is between one thirty and one fifty-nine, then you are considered a borderline case. So at this point the doctor will recommend that you go on an exercise regimen and also to change your diet, diet modification which means change your diet eat more vegetables and fibers and keep the fatty intake to a minimum. However if your LDL level is over one thirty and you already have cardiovascular disease or if it is less than one sixty plus two risk factors. Then at this point the doctor would recommend having drug therapy. So these are some of the criteria and some of the recommendations for terms of screening for cholesterol level in the body."