Cholesterol, found in every cell in your body, is needed to hold cells together, among other things. This eMedTV article explains the types of cholesterol and how too much cholesterol in your blood can increase your risk of developing heart disease.
When people talk about different types of cholesterol, what they're really referring to are cholesterol complexes. This eMedTV page debunks the common misconceptions associated with types of cholesterol while explaining what each complex is.
The term "good cholesterol" refers to high-density lipoprotein (HDL). This eMedTV resource provides an overview of good and bad cholesterol and explains how improving your good cholesterol levels can lower your risk of heart disease.
Low density lipoprotein (a substance that transports cholesterol) is often called "bad cholesterol." As this eMedTV article explains, too much of this substance in the blood may lead to blocked arteries and increases the risk for heart disease.
The information in this section of the eMedTV website discusses the benefits of a lipoprotein profile cholesterol test as well as other tests. A blood cholesterol test is the only way to determine if you have high cholesterol levels in your blood.
This eMedTV Web page offers guidelines and tables to help determine if your cholesterol levels fall within the healthy range. Some types of cholesterol levels include total cholesterol levels, LDL cholesterol levels, and HDL cholesterol levels.
Common cholesterol ratios include total/HDL, LDL/HDL, and HDL/LDL. This eMedTV Web page explains how a cholesterol ratio is calculated and explores the controversy associated with using a cholesterol ratio to predict risk for heart disease.
This eMedTV resource defines healthy cholesterol levels and offers easy-to-understand tables. When determining healthy levels, it's important to consider LDL and HDL levels; total cholesterol levels can be misleading.
The HDL/LDL ratio is the proportion of "good cholesterol" (HDL) to "bad cholesterol" (LDL). This eMedTV article explains how this ratio is figured and also discusses why absolute cholesterol numbers may be more important than any cholesterol ratio.
A home cholesterol test can be about as accurate as the test your doctor uses, but you must follow the directions carefully. This eMedTV resource explains how to perform a home cholesterol test, as well as the benefits and its limitations.
As one of the risk factors for developing the condition, cholesterol and heart disease go hand in hand. This portion of the eMedTV archives discusses the dangerous relationship between cholesterol and heart disease.
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