Monitor Your Cholesterol Levels Online

Answer 1

When should you begin having regular cholesterol screenings? The medical community has no hard and fast rules, but certainly if you are a man between the ages of 35 and 65, or a woman between the ages of 45 and 65, it�s a good idea to have a cholesterol test at least once a year. If you have a family history of cardiac disease, smoke or are significantly overweight, your physician may want to begin monitoring your cholesterol levels even sooner: There is a close correlation between cholesterol levels and heart health.

A basic cholesterol test measures two things: total cholesterol and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol From these two pieces of information, your cholesterol ratio can be calculated. This is useful data, but your physician will need far more information before he or she can make an informed decision about whether to treat you for elevated cholesterol.

Lipoprotein analysis, often called a fasting cholesterol test, measures LDL (low-density lipoproteins) and triglycerides, in addition to HDL and cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol molecules are insoluble in blood because they are so fatty. When the body needs to transport cholesterol from one site to another, it enlists the services of complex molecules called lipoproteins. LDL is a lipoprotein that targets blood vessels where it frequently becomes trapped, forming plaque. Over time, plaque narrows the lumen of these blood vessels, putting an additional strain on the heart. For this reason, LDL is called �bad cholesterol.� HDL, on the other hand, targets the liver where cholesterol is actively removed from the blood stream. For this reason, HDL is called �good cholesterol.�

Graphing cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels from year to year by means of a cholesterol levels chart is an easy and convenient way to keep track of overall trends. Many online healthcare websites allow users to do this. Trends are often far more useful to health status than any single set of numbers.

If having your cholesterol test or lipoprotein analysis through the laboratory associated with your physician�s practice is too expensive, many chain pharmacies and supermarkets periodically offer cholesterol screenings, either for free or at a significantly reduced cost.

Even if a single visit to your physician is an expense you can�t handle, don�t use that as an excuse not to monitor your cholesterol. You can always have the blood work done at the pharmacy or supermarket. You can then track the overall trends yourself through an online cholesterol levels chart. While you can�t prescribe yourself medications, you can begin making lifestyle changes and taking nutritional supplements such as garlic (found to lower levels of LDH and triglycerides in a 2000 National Institute of Health study.) If your levels are trending on the high side, you would be well advised to visit your physician and review your treatment options, however high the cost.