The importance of a cholesterol test

A cholesterol test is different from most tests, as it is not used to diagnose or monitor a disease but is used to estimate risk of developing a disease, especially heart disease. Because high blood cholesterol has been associated with hardening of the arteries, heart disease and a raised risk of death from heart attacks, cholesterol tests are considered a routine part of preventive health care. The cholesterol test is recommended to be done at least once every five years. It is usually ordered in combination with other tests including HDL, LDL, and triglycerides.

Patients who have been prescribed diet or drugs to lower their cholesterol should perform a cholesterol test at more frequent intervals. In this case, the cholesterol test is used to track how well these measures are succeeding in lowering cholesterol to desired levels.

The results of a

cholesterol test are grouped in three categories of risk:

Desirable: cholesterol below 200 mg/dl is considered desirable and reflects a low risk of heart disease.

Borderline high: cholesterol of 200 to 240 mg/dl reflects moderate risk.

High Risk: cholesterol above 240 mg/dl is considered high risk. Your doctor may order a lipid profile to try to determine the cause of your high cholesterol reflected by the cholesterol tests. Once the cause is known, an appropriate treatment will be prescribed.

In a treatment setting, cholesterol testing is used to see how much cholesterol is decreasing as a result of treatment. The goal for the amount of change or the target values are set by the doctor.

Before getting a cholesterol test, you should consider that blood cholesterol is temporarily low during acute illness, immediately

following a heart attack, or during stress (like from surgery or an accident). You should wait at least 6 weeks after any illness to get a cholesterol test. Cholesterol is high during pregnancy. Women should wait at least six weeks after birth to have their cholesterol measured. Before getting a cholesterol test, avoid the drugs that are known to increase cholesterol levels like anabolic steroids, beta blockers, epinephrine, oral contraceptives and vitamin D.

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