Question: What Is My LDL Cholesterol Goal if I Am Healthy?
Answer: High levels of LDL cholesterol, otherwise known as your bad cholesterol, can place you at risk of having heart disease if left untreated. In order to help prevent heart disease, the National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that your LDL cholesterol should be the main target of your treatment. Therefore, there are LDL cholesterol goals that your healthcare provider uses to determine what type of treatment you should receive for your cholesterol –- and prevent coronary heart disease in the future. These treatment options can range from making lifestyle changes to taking medications.
If you are relatively healthy, or have only one risk factor for heart disease, your LDL cholesterol goal is less than 160 mg/dL. Risk factors for heart disease include smoking, low HDL, family history of heart disease, gender, age, high blood pressure, and not living a healthy lifestyle.
Reaching Your LDL Goal
If you have no risk factors, or only one risk factor, for heart disease and your LDL cholesterol is not below 160 mg/dL, your healthcare provider will recommend certain treatments to help lower your cholesterol. These treatments include lifestyle modifications and drug therapy. Your treatment will depend upon your current, fasting LDL cholesterol level:- If your LDL cholesterol is already below 160 mg/dL, you are at your goal LDL. You should continue with what you are doing, including making further positive changes to your lifestyle. If you have only one risk factor for heart disease -- and it is something you can control (like smoking or high blood pressure) -– you should try to treat this, too.
- If your LDL cholesterol is between 160 and 189 mg/dL, your healthcare provider will encourage therapeutic lifestyle changes. This includes a low-fat diet, smoking cessation, and getting moderate exercise. If lifestyle changes are not working for you after a period of time, your healthcare provider may decide to place you on medications to lower your cholesterol -- and your heart disease risk.
- If your LDL cholesterol is 190 mg/dL or above, your healthcare provider will recommend cholesterol-lowering medications to help you achieve your LDL goal. Positive changes in your lifestyle, such as exercise and a healthy diet, should also be followed to get your LDL to goal.
Source:
Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (PDF), July 2004, The National Institutes of Heath: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
