Know Your Numbers: What Is Your Cholesterol Ratio And Why Is It Important?

A cholesterol test will reveal important information regarding the total cholesterol level, but also numbers that depict LDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels. Each of these four factors contributes to diagnosing or understanding more about the current health condition of a person. However, each of these factors also has a different interpretation.

What is your cholesterol ratio?

However, cholesterol ratio has a different formula, but also a different meaning. To calculate your cholesterol ratio, you have to divide your total cholesterol by your good cholesterol reading. If your total cholesterol is 200, and your good cholesterol is 80, the resulting number is 2.5, which is your total cholesterol.

Experts have stated that the best cholesterol ratio is 3.5, but everyone should aim to keep this number below 5 at all times.

It’s important to underline the fact that there might be differences in the cholesterol ratio of two people that have an identical level of total cholesterol. The cholesterol ratio should be interpreted as the level of risk of having heart disease.

As an example, let’s assume that two people have the same level of total cholesterol, for instance, 200. One of these people has an HDL reading of 80, which means that their cholesterol ratio is 2.5. The other person has an HDL reading of 40, which means that their cholesterol ratio is 5, the threshold that warns of potential heart disease. Because of the different cholesterol ratio between these two people, one of them falls under a higher risk category.

Cholesterol ratio and gender

Men and women’s numbers are generally interpreted differently, mostly because women have a higher level of good cholesterol in their bodies compared to men. Studies have shown that men who have a cholesterol ratio of 5 are more vulnerable to heart disease compared to those with a lower ratio.

As far as women are concerned, the same studies have shown that women with a cholesterol ratio of 4.4 also have a risk of ending up with heart disease.

Long story short, here are some numbers that might help understand the risks better:

• Men with a cholesterol ratio of 3.4 are considered to be at half the average risk; those with a ratio of 5 are of average risk; those with a ratio of 9.6 have twice the average risk.
• Women with a cholesterol ratio of 4.4 have an average risk of heart disease, those with a ratio of 3.3 have half the average risk, and those with a ratio of 7 have twice the average risk.

Good vs bad cholesterol

For a very long time, people have thought of cholesterol as a negative thing, but cholesterol can actually be both good and bad. What a lot of people don’t know is that the liver produces cholesterol all on its own, without the need for any external intervention.

The body has two main types of cholesterol:

• Bad cholesterol, which is known as LDL (low-density lipoprotein), is made up of proteins and fat. Bad cholesterol is transported to your arteries, and eventually create deposits on the artery walls. In time, these deposits turn into plaques, which can restrict blood flow, thus interfering with normal blood circulation inside the arteries. This plaque build-up is known as atherosclerosis. These plaques can also lead to the formation of blood clots, which are very dangerous because they interrupt blood supply to the heart and brain, thus increasing the odds of a heart attack or a stroke.
• Good cholesterol is known as HDL (high-density lipoprotein), and is also a combination of proteins and fat. What HDL does is to transport cholesterol to the liver, which then eliminates it from your bloodstream. Basically, HDL helps the body get rid of excess cholesterol, which would otherwise form deposits on the artery walls.

On a general note, the more good cholesterol you have in your body, the less likely you are to end up with plaque build-up because of bad cholesterol. When plaques are formed, they can also lead to oxygen deprivation, which in turn causes a series of other health problems, such as kidney disease.

A word on triglycerides

Triglycerides are another important factor analyzed during a cholesterol test. They are a type of fat which your body creates by converting the excess calories that it doesn’t need. After being created, triglycerides are stored in a person’s fat cells, and are later used to draw energy when needed.

Triglycerides aren’t necessarily bad, but they can be when their level rises. What happens is that people eat more calories than they burn. This is especially true for people who have a diet rich in carbohydrates.

Conclusion

Determining your cholesterol ratio is a good idea that helps doctors determine what is the best treatment plan for your particular case. Aside from cholesterol ratio, your total cholesterol levels are also very important, but keep in mind that you are required to make dietary changes not just to keep cholesterol under control, but also to avoid every having such problems in the first place.