About Cholesterol Screening

Blood cholesterol levels are an important indication of current and future health. High cholesterol levels put you at risk for a variety of health conditions, including heart disease. As cholesterol levels rise, the likelihood of suffering from a heart attack increases exponentially. Cholesterol screenings can help determine if blood levels are within the safe range and can let you know if lifestyle or dietary changes are required to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease in the future. Most doctors, clinics, and hospitals offer affordable cholesterol screenings, while many local and state health departments offer annual screenings for free to the public.

Significance

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but regular cholesterol screenings can reduce the risk of heart disease in most people.

Function

• Cholesterol screenings not only check for high blood levels of cholesterol, they are an effective monitoring tool when working to reduce cholesterol or when taking medication designed to lower cholesterol levels.

Types

• Most cholesterol screenings provide four measurements of cholesterol: total cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, LDL cholesterol levels and HDL cholesterol levels, also known as the "good" cholesterol.

Benefits

• The American Heart Association states that public cholesterol screenings may potentially identify large numbers of the public with high cholesterol levels that will not or cannot be seen by private physicians, raise awareness of the risks of high cholesterol, and provide valuable information to the public about the steps needed to reduce these risks.

Considerations

• If cholesterol levels measure high, cholesterol tests should be repeated before beginning treatment to determine the accuracy of the initial screening results.