Calculating cholesterol levels in the blood has been used for many years as a good indicator of the health of the cardiovascular system. Scientists have now refined some of these tests to be a more accurate predictor of specific heart and blood circulation conditions and diseases.
Traditionally doctors measure three levels in the blood and from these they calculate two more. They test for total cholesterol, for high density lipoproteins and for triglycerides. From these readings they can determine the low density lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein levels in the blood.
The low density lipoprotein is worked out by a simple calculation. It is done this way due to cost implications of accurately measuring it individually. Take your total cholesterol level and subtract the high density lipoproteins and twenty per cent of your triglycerides - this gives you your low density lipoprotein score. This has been found to be the easiest way to measure low density or LDL and the result only becomes unreliable if your triglyceride levels are really high.
Different countries will also express these measurements differently. In the United States the levels are given in millimoles per liter or milligrams per deciliter whereas other countries including the United Kingdom tend to use the International Unit system of measurements. By comparison the international unit of 5.18 is equivalent to 200 milligrams per deciliter. Doctors in the United Kingdom recommend a level of below 5 for people with normal health and below 4 if there is any evidence or family history of any cardiovascular conditions or diseases.
Some doctors will also use your cholesterol ratio as another way of indicating the health of your blood circulation system and it's pump, your heart. Your cholesterol ratio is calculated by dividing your total cholesterol level by the high density lipoproteins. Doctors like to see this cholesterol ratio to be less than 5 to 1, that is your high density or HDL levels should be at least twenty per cent of your total cholesterol.
Researchers have now developed new techniques for calculating cholesterol which they say are more accurate at predicting the onset of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. They have identified two specific lipoproteins in the blood that are linked to these diseases. The first they have called apolipoprotein A and levels in the blood in excess of thirty milligrams per litre are a warning sign of coronary artery or heart disease. The second test is for apolipoprotein B and this they have discovered shows the start of plaque deposits in the blood vessels and so is a predictor for atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.
Scientists have now developed accurate tests to measure both apolipoproteins A and B and this will become the standard for calculating cholesterol in the future.
Sue Roberts
http://www.CalculatingCholesterol.com
