what are bad cholesterol levels?
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Cholesterol levels for adults Total cholesterol levels less than 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are considered desirable for adults. A reading between 200 and 239 mg/dL is considered borderline high and a reading of 240 mg/dL and above is considered high. LDL cholesterol levels should be less than 100 mg/dL.
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Eating a healthy diet and doing regular exercise can help lower the level of cholesterol in your blood. Adopting healthy habits, such as eating a healthy, balanced diet and keeping active, can also help prevent your cholesterol levels becoming high in the first place.
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Risk factors Factors that can increase your risk of bad cholesterol include: Poor diet. Eating saturated fat, found in animal products, and trans fats, found in some commercially baked cookies and crackers and microwave popcorn, can raise your cholesterol level.
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LDL and HDL Cholesterol: "Bad" and "Good" Cholesterol. Cholesterol travels through the blood on proteins called “lipoproteins.” Two types of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout the body: LDL (low-density lipoprotein), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, makes up most of your body's cholesterol.
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High blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a fat (also called a lipid) that your body needs to work properly. Too much bad cholesterol can increase your chance of getting heart disease, stroke, and other problems. The medical term for high blood cholesterol is lipid disorder, hyperlipidemia, or hypercholesterolemia.
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High cholesterol can cause a dangerous accumulation of cholesterol and other deposits on the walls of your arteries (atherosclerosis). These deposits (plaques) can reduce blood flow through your arteries, which can cause complications, such as: Chest pain.
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It is sometimes called the "bad" cholesterol because a high LDL level leads to a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries. HDL stands for high-density lipoproteins. It is sometimes called the "good" cholesterol because it carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver.
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HDL is considered good because it takes the bad LDL out of your blood and keeps it from building up in the arteries. The standard recommendation has been to keep HDL levels high (40 to 60 milligrams per deciliter [mg/dL]) and LDL low (less than 100 mg/dL). (See "Lipid levels in adults.")
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Recommended HDL range Typically, doctors recommend an HDL level of 60 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood or higher. HDL that falls within the range of 40 to 59 mg/dL is normal, but could be higher. Having HDL under 40 mg/dL increases your risk of developing heart disease.
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['high cholesterol is when you have too much of a fatty substance called cholesterol in your blood.', "it's mainly caused by eating fatty food, not exercising enough, being overweight, smoking and drinking alcohol."]
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When you have low triglyceride levels but high LDL levels, it could indicate that you have a diet filled with healthy fats. Healthy fats will not only cause an increase in good cholesterol (HDL) but can also change the type of the LDL particles in the blood.
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If you have both diabetes and high cholesterol, you're not alone. The American Heart Association (AHA) states that diabetes often lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels and raises triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Both of these increase the risk for heart disease and stroke.
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HDL cholesterol levels greater than 60 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are high. That's good. HDL cholesterol levels less than 40 mg/dL are low.
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The main risk associated with high cholesterol is coronary heart disease (CHD). Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting heart disease. If your cholesterol is too high, it builds up on the walls of your arteries. Over time, this buildup is known as atherosclerosis.
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Higher HDL levels are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. HDL levels lower than 40 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are considered worrisome, and levels higher than 60 mg/dL are considered excellent.
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The good: This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. The bad: This food is very high in Sodium.
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But new research suggests that there could be too much of a "good" thing. Very high blood levels of HDL cholesterol may actually be bad for you. The research linked it to a higher risk for heart attack, and even death, among patients who already had heart problems or who faced a higher risk of developing heart disease.