Cholesterol comes from two sources: your body and your diet. Your body manufactures some cholesterol, and the rest comes from the animal products that you eat, such as meats, eggs, butter, cheese and whole milk. Food from plants like fruits, vegetables and cereals do not have cholesterol. Your body produces enough cholesterol to meet its needs, so monitoring your diet is very important.

Why have a cholesterol test?
A simple blood cholesterol test can assess your risk for heart disease.

Typically, a cholesterol test is part of a routine physical at your doctor’s office. Your physician can take a blood sample from you at your next visit and send it to a pathology laboratory for analysis. To achieve the most accurate results, you should fast for 9-12 hours prior to having your blood drawn.

All adults age 20 years or older should have their cholesterol checked every five years. This check-up should measure total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. If you’re a man over 45 or a woman over 55, you should get this test done more frequently. Ask your physician how often you should be tested.

How is cholesterol related to heart disease?
Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting heart disease. In fact, the higher your blood cholesterol level, the greater your risk for developing heart disease or having a heart attack.

Your cholesterol reading is the sum of your LDL, HDL and other lipoproteins like trigylcerides. Cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

This means that if your total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL, your heart attack risk is relatively low, unless you have other risk factors. Even with a low risk, it's still smart to eat foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol, as well as get plenty of physical activity. In general, people who have a total cholesterol level of 240 mg/dL have twice the risk of heart attack as people who have a cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL.

When there is too much LDL or “bad” cholesterol in your blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries. Over time, a buildup of LDL cholesterol causes atherosclerosis, which is a hardening of the arteries. These arteries become narrowed and blood flow to the heart is slowed down or blocked. The blood carries oxygen to the heart, and if enough blood and oxygen cannot reach your heart, your heart becomes weakened and you may suffer chest pain. If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by a blockage, the result is a heart attack. Likewise, decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke.

Total Cholesterol Level
Desirable	Borderline	High
Below 200	200-239	Above 240

LDL (or bad) Cholesterol Level
Optimal	Near Optimal	Borderline High	High	Very High
Below 100	100-129	130-159	160-189	Above 190

Triglyceride Level
Normal	Bordline High	High	Very High
Below 150	150-199	200-499	Above 500