Cholesterol FAQs (cont.)

Cholesterol Levels Slideshow Pictures

Lower Cholesterol Slideshow: Avoid Heart Disease

Take the Cholesterol Quiz

Medical Author:

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

View Full Profile

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

View Full Profile

How often should I have my cholesterol checked?

The American Heart Association recommends that blood cholesterol levels should be checked every 5 years after the age of 20. If cholesterol levels are high (usually over 200 mg dL), people are often started on medicine to reduce the cholesterol and are usually advised to begin a low-cholesterol diet. Then the cholesterol levels are usually checked about every three months to see if the levels normalize. Once the levels normalize, they are often rechecked at least once per year by many health care practitioners.

How is cholesterol checked?»

«Previous

...

(Page 2 of 11)

Glossary