The FastDay Forum

Cholesterol symbols and numbers continue to be a mystery for me. All the gp would say via phone was my cholesterol was up since last year, but it was good because the good one is up.???

I'll put the confusion here, I know its important stuff and dont want to mess with my health if there is an issue.

May ' 13

Cholesterol -5.9 H
Trig 0.9
HDL-CHOL 1.64
LDL-CHOL 3.8 H
LDLC/HDLC 2.3
CHOL/HDLC 3.6

June ' 14

Cholesterol 6.0 H
Trig 0.9
HDL-CHOL 1.91
LDL-CHOL 3.7 H
LDLC/HDLC 1.9
CHOL/HDLC 3.1



What would 'H' represent?

I dont think there is any evidence of particles being measured or looked at. There was no mention or symbol for 'particles' I think the particle part may have been important but cant think why.

I believe I have an information processing problem.

There was no urge to go see the gp next to my results.

I need a better relationship with my gp.

I would be ever in appreciation if someone with cholesterol knowledge can explain this to me.

I think 99% of us are as confused as you. Hope the medical brains will be along soon.

Well, I'm no expert but I think your results look OK to me!

LDL (low density lipoprotein cholesterol) - the cholesterol which is 'bad' because it can build up on the walls of your arteries - your results show a slight decrease so good news!

HDL (high density lipoprotein cholesterol) - the cholesterol which is 'good' and protects against heart disease - a higher number is better and your results show an increase, so also good news!

From what I remember the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL is what's important, so the total cholesterol divided by HDL should be below 4 - which yours is, so everything looks fine to me.

Re your GP - rest assured, if there were any problems with your results your GP would have contacted you straight away to make an appointment, the fact that he/she isn't in a hurry to see you means that everything is fine!

Good question and well answered, Nicky_94.

I was going through some paperwork and found my latest, printed blood results, which also had a 'desirable range ' in the next column:
Triglycerides less than 1.5
HDL-Chol more than 1.0
LDL-Chol less than 2.5
Chol/HDL ratio less than 5.1

I hope this helps.

My rule of thumb is HDL + 'happy' dl and LDL= 'lousy'dl and the ratio between the two is the significant reading not the total which is the sum of the two.

A recent BBC documentary by Jacques Peretti (The men who made us spend) suggested that the 'problem of cholesterol' was 'invented' and promoted by the drugs companies to sell more statins. The programme is currently available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer (July 2014)

This book and this website are also worth a look as they give you a different perspective.. ..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Great-Chole ... 1844546101

and,

http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/

Hi @zamale The "H" simply means "high", according to the normal values for the test. I agree, the whole cholesterol levels is a confusing mess and given all the recent research suggesting that the idea that cholesterol levels are closely associated with heart disease may be seriously flawed or even bunk; it makes you want to run away from the confusion. I looked at some Normal values charts and your total cholesterol is only slightly elevated (N = <5.9) ....whatever that means