High Triglycerides

High Triglycerides: An Introduction

Triglycerides are the main storage form of fat in the body, and are important for its overall functioning. However, high triglycerides in the blood (known as hypertriglyceridemia) can lead to health problems.

 

Understanding Triglycerides

Triglycerides have two important uses within the body:

 

Triglycerides come from the fats in foods (saturated fat and unsaturated fat). They are also made in the liver from carbohydrates and proteins. Triglycerides are mostly stored in fat cells, but other cells (such as muscle cells) store some. To get to these cells, triglycerides are transferred with complexes called lipoproteins (specifically chylomicrons and VLDL, or very low density lipoproteins).

 

Triglyceride levels in the blood are categorized as shown in the following table.

 

Triglyceride Levels	Triglyceride Category
Less than 150 mg/dL	Normal
150-199 mg/dL	Borderline high
200-499 mg/dL	High
500 mg/dL or above	Very high

 

How Common Are High Triglycerides?

High triglycerides (over 200 mg/dL) occur in about 10 percent of people. Very high levels (over 1,000 mg/dL) are rare. The condition appears to be more common in men than women. High triglycerides also appear to be more common in Caucasians than in African Americans.

 

What Causes High Triglycerides?

Probably the most common cause of high triglycerides is inadequate fasting prior to a lipid test. Triglycerides in the blood increase following a meal; they can remain high for up to ten hours. If fasting does not occur, the person will have artificially high triglycerides. This is why healthcare providers do not want a person to eat food or drink coffee for at least 12 hours prior to triglyceride and cholesterol testing.

 

Other factors that have been shown to be causes of high triglycerides include:

 

 

 

Symptoms of High Triglycerides and How They Are Diagnosed

There are no high triglyceride symptoms, so many people are unaware that their triglyceride levels are too high. Most people learn that they have high triglycerides through a blood test, such as a lipid panel.

 

Possible Complications With High Triglycerides

High triglycerides can increase your risk for developing certain medical conditions, including heart disease and heart attack. Over time, triglycerides can build up on your artery walls, as can cholesterol and other debris. This buildup is called plaque. Eventually, plaque can narrow the blood vessels, and sometimes this buildup may even block your blood vessels completely. Plaque buildup on your blood vessel walls is called atherosclerosis.

 

For people with very high triglycerides in the blood (over 1,000 mg/dL), this can also cause other conditions, including:

 

Lowering High Triglycerides

When results of a lipid panel (or other tests that measure triglycerides) indicate high triglycerides, the healthcare provider will first make sure that the person fasted prior to the test, as levels increase following a meal. The healthcare provider may also recommend that the person be retested. If the second fasting test also comes back high, the doctor will consider several factors before recommending treatment for high triglycerides. Some of these factors include a person's:

 

The main goal of treatment is to lower triglycerides enough to reduce the risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. For people with high triglycerides and low HDL, treatment will be more aggressive, since these factors significantly increase a person's chance for heart disease.

 

Depending on a person's particular situation, options for lowering triglycerides can include:

 

Lifestyle changes may also be recommended. These changes can include:

 

People with high triglycerides also tend to respond well to fish or fish oil in their diet. For most people, these steps will lower triglycerides to a normal level. If these steps are not effective, your healthcare provider may recommend medications.