Know Your Lipid Profile for a Healthy Heart

March 16,2022
1 Min Read

This Valentine’s Day…

Care for your heart. You owe it to the one it beats for!

Keep your cholesterol in check.

Lipid profile is a blood test that measures the amount of cholesterol and other lipid substances in the blood. This test can help a doctor quickly assess your risk of a heart disease.

If you are otherwise healthy, you should have your lipid profile checked at least once every 5 years.

However, if you have high blood sugar or high blood pressure or a family history of heart disease and cholesterol, you should check your lipid profile REGULARLY (at least once a year).

Deciphering your lipid profile report

Total Cholesterol (should be under 200 mg/dL):

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that's found in all the cells in your body. Your body needs cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, etc. But too much cholesterol can cause heart disease.

Triglycerides (should be under 150 mg/dL):

Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in the body. They come from foods (butter, oil, etc) and extra calories (these are the calories that you eat, but your body does not need right away – they are converted into triglycerides and stored in fat cells).

HDL (should be over 60 mg/dL):

HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) is also known as “good cholesterol” because it carries cholesterol from all parts of your body to your liver. The liver then removes this cholesterol from the body. Unlike the other types of cholesterol, you want to have high levels of HDL.

LDL (should be under 100 mg/dL):

LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) is also known as “bad cholesterol”. These have a tendency of sticking to the walls of blood vessels, forming plaques that cause narrowing or blocks in the blood vessel. This increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

VLDL Cholesterol (should be under 150 mg/dL):

Unlike LDL and HDL, VLDL transports triglycerides to the tissues. Like LDL, it too has a tendency to form plaques.

“But I’m young and healthy, I probably have a good cholesterol level! Right?”

In an analysis done by Suburban Diagnostics over 5 years on 1.9+ lakh people under the age of 40 years who had come for regular health check-ups, we found some shocking results!

Among men,

29% had high total cholesterol levels (>200 mg/dL)

42% had high triglycerides (>150 mg/dL)

73% had high LDL (bad cholesterol) levels (>100 mg/dL)

97% had low HDL (good cholesterol) levels (<60 mg/dL)

Among women,

19% had high total cholesterol levels (>200 mg/dL)

21% had high triglycerides (>150 mg/dL)

60% had high LDL (bad cholesterol) levels (>100 mg/dL)

87% had low HDL (good cholesterol) levels (<60 mg/dL)

Your cholesterol levels may be high and you may not even know it!!!

Keep your heart healthy for the one you love.

Suburban Diagnostics offers a wide range of health check-up packages that are tailored according to your gender and age group. Take control of your health today and make your health a priority!