For the last five years or so, I’ve had slightly high cholesterol , e.g. 5.7 mmol/l total, 3.4 LDL but good 1.9 HDL, 0.9 triglycerides and total/HDL ratio of 3. I get tested once a year or so. I’m not overweight and am active, etc., but I do want to bring that LDL down and made a few changes such as more leafy green, Benecol drinks, etc.
I read somewhere that a VLDL test was more worthwhile so went for that.
The result is just one number (<5mg/dL). Apparently, anything below 30mg/dL is good. It’s clearly a different system and units from the HDL and LDL tests. I should be glad I scored well, but it doesn’t tell me how my LDL is getting on. I sort of assumed that’d be measured too.
Not really a question, just disappointed with the info. I’ll stick to HDL and LDL next time.
Cholesterol results still high after 12 months.
Strange results of blood tests!
High Cholesterol but high HDL
Latest cholesterol levels
Hello,
Very interesting you went for this test!!
Please read the information on cholesterol in the link below:
zoeharcombe.com/the-knowled...
zoeharcombe.com/2012/08/cho...
Different unit of measurements are explained.
Where id you go to get VLDL tested and the cost, fasting or not fasting?
"Remnant Cholesterol, Not LDL Cholesterol, Is Associated With Incident Cardiovascular Disease", this is new few doctors talk about.!!
Thank you.
There are probably rules about advertising, but the company was Medich*cks. You get a kit in the post which you take to a pre-booked pharmacy appointment to have the sample taken. It was a syringe and not a finger prick lance. I booked it for 9am so it was fairly easy to fast from the midnight before.
It’s not so much the difference in units. Google advises how to convert mmol/l to mg/dL and vice versa. My issue is I have slightly elevated LDL, and I was rather hoping this figure would be included in the result. However, the results were just a single VLDL figure of <5mg/dL. So I’m not the wiser about my LDL.
Note the VLDL healthy range is from 0 to 30 mg/dL, so it’s not connected with the oft-used total cholesterol figure.
I believe VLDL and LDL are both considered bad cholesterol, but they’re different. If people are saying a VLDL test is a good idea, bear in mind it might not include LDL results, so these should also be requested.
I’m going to take another test which includes the more recognisable HDL and LDL. I’m not really sure what I’ve achieved with the VLDL test.
Thank you your response.
My GP practice is having difficulty in getting my blood collected at the surgery, two tries problems. Now I am going to the hospital to take blood collection and this is to test RBC.
For the first time the blood was take in a syringe and then transferred to a different tube not a standard purple colour tube, a narrow long tube.
"Calculated LDL cholesterol testing: In this test, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides are used to estimate LDL cholesterol levels in your blood. Usually, LDL is calculated by subtracting the amount of HDL and VLDL from the total amount of cholesterol. In most cases, LDL cholesterol levels reported by your doctor are calculated rather than measured directly.
Direct LDL cholesterol testing: Tests that measure only LDL cholesterol levels in your blood are called direct LDL cholesterol tests. Your doctor might use a direct LDL cholesterol test if you have a high level of triglycerides, which can make the formula-based calculation of LDL less accurate.
Most of the time, using a formula to calculate LDL cholesterol is accurate enough to provide your doctor with a useful assessment of your cholesterol levels."
Please do keep us informed of your blood numbers.