An Introduction to Cholesterol Ratios
In addition to these numbers, the results from the cholesterol blood test may also show several ratios of cholesterol. These ratios may include:
- Total/HDL ratio
- LDL/HDL ratio
- HDL/LDL ratio.
Total Cholesterol/HDL Cholesterol
Total cholesterol to HDL ratios (or total/HDL ratios) are determined by dividing the HDL cholesterol into the total cholesterol. If a person has a total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL and an HDL cholesterol of 40 mg/dL, his or her total/HDL ratio would be 5:1. The goal is to keep these ratios of cholesterol below 5:1, with the ideal being below 3.5:1.
Scientists and doctors are divided on the effectiveness of these ratios for predicting the chances of developing
heart disease. At this point, the American Heart Association recommends using the absolute numbers for total blood cholesterol and HDL cholesterol instead of the total/HDL cholesterol ratio. They believe that the absolute
cholesterol numbers are more useful to plan treatment than this cholesterol ratio.
Another ratio that certain labs determine is the LDL to HDL ratio.
These cholesterol ratios are sometimes used to help predict the chances of developing
heart disease. Such ratios compare levels of
bad cholesterol (LDL) to
good cholesterol (HDL). For LDL/HDL ratios, the goal is to keep it below 3.5:1, with the ideal being under 2.5:1.
However, similar to the total/HDL ratio, the medical community is divided on whether the LDL/HDL ratio is better than absolute total cholesterol or LDL
cholesterol levels in predicting a person's risk for heart disease. For treatment of
high cholesterol, using the absolute numbers for LDL and HDL is recommended.
