Blood tests can reveal a lot of information about your heart health. In fact, because of that, a standard part of almost any medical  checkup today is a blood lipid profile, also called a blood fat test or cholesterol test. Most doctors consider four lipid numbers when monitoring heart health and heart-disease risks:

      

            The four key blood lipid numbers are:

            - Total cholesterol
            - Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol

            - High-denisty lipoprotein (HDL) or "good" cholesterol

            - Triglycerides (Trigs)

 

A blood lipid profile will let your doctor know if you have too much or too little of any blood lipid. For instance, having too much "bad" cholesterol or high amounts of triglycerides in your blood can put you at risk for heart disease, while having too little "good" cholesterol can do the same.

 

Optimal Total Cholesterol:

Article by: L. Ann Binstock
Article from Heart Care of HealthMonitor

Visit www.healthmonitor.com for more articles and tips on heart health.