Treatment Guidelines for Hyperlipidemia

Lipids are the breakdown product of fats and oils. The most common lipids in the bloodstream are cholesterol and triglycerides. Cholesterol can be bound to a variety of different proteins, of which LDL-cholesterol is considered to be "bad." The HDL-cholesterol is commonly thought of as the "good" cholesterol. High levels of LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides are associated with higher risks for cardiovascular disease and the treatment guidelines for hyperlipidemia (abnormally high lipid levels in the blood) focus on getting the levels of these lipids down to an acceptable level.

Overall Goals

• The overall goal for treating hyperlipidemia is to lower the levels of LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides while raising the levels of HDL-cholesterol.

Total Cholesterol

• Total cholesterol levels below 200 mg per deciliter are desirable. Levels of more than 240 mg per deciliter are high.

LDL-Cholesterol

• It is recommended that LDL-cholesterol levels be below 70 mg per deciliter in people with a severe risk of heart disease, below 100 mg per deciliter in people with an elevated risk of heart disease and below 130 mg per deciliter for everyone else.

HDL-Cholesterol

• HDL-cholesterol levels are optimally above 60 mg per deciliter. Levels lower than 40 mg per deciliter in males and lower than 50 for females are considered poor.

Triglycerides

• Triglyceride levels are ideally at less than 150 mg per deciliter. If the levels are more than 200, it is considered high.