The only way to know your cholesterol and blood pressure levels is to get a regular screening from your doctor. And when you have your cholesterol level checked, make sure he or she tells you what your LDL and HDL readings are, rather than just giving you your overall number.
What Will a Cholesterol Screening Tell You?
Cholesterol is a natural substance that builds up over time along the walls of our arteries. Over time, cholesterol can cause artherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries." When blood and oxygen can no longer reach the heart, a heart attack is often the result.
There are two types of cholesterol that show up in a screening - a good kind, called "high density lipoprotein" (HDL) and a bad kind called "low density lipoprotein" (LDL). What's really important isn't the total of both kinds combined, but the ratio between them. In other words, you want to have more good than bad.
For example, a patient having a total cholesterol number of 161 - quite good on the old below-200 standard - may actually be at a high risk if his or her good cholesterol (HDL) makes up, say, only 17 points of the total.
An HDL reading of above 60 mg/dl is now considered to lower your risk of artherosclerosis. Conversely, an HDL reading of below 35 mg/dl is now known to be a major risk factor for heart disease.
What About High Blood Pressure?
High blood pressure is also known as hypertension. One out of every four Americans suffers from it and, if untreated, they face more than three times the normal risk for stroke, heart disease or even death. Having your blood pressure checked regularly is the best way to find out if you're at risk for hypertension.
Blood pressure readings are given as two numbers. The first number is your systolic pressure, which measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart is contracting and blood moves through the arteries. The second number is your diastolic pressure, which measures the arterial pressure when your heart is at rest.
Until recently, doctors focused more on your diastolic pressure when evaluating your risk. Now they know that even a slight increase in systolic pressure can be significant in determining a person's risk for high blood pressure.
A normal reading for adults is 120/80. A slightly higher or lower reading may be normal for you. However, if your reading goes above 130/85, you should consider yourself at risk and take steps to decrease your blood pressure.
Although many people treat their high blood pressure with medicine prescribed by a doctor, you can lower your blood pressure significantly with a change in diet. Eliminating foods high in salt or sodium is a good start. And be sure to add plenty of vegetables and fruit and eat only low-fat dairy foods. Exercise will also lower blood pressure and improve weight loss.
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