Cholesterol FAQs (cont.)

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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.

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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.

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How is cholesterol checked?

Cholesterol screening is part of a blood test called a lipoprotein analysis that measures not only total cholesterol in the body but also different types of cholesterol and triglycerides (another type of fat in the body). Total cholesterol is made up two types of cholesterol;

High density lipoproteins (HDL) which may protect the body against narrowing blood vessels and is considered good cholesterol, and
Low density lipoproteins (LDL) is considered bad cholesterol and may make arterial narrowing worse.

The test is done after a 9 to 12 hour fast and your health care practitioner can help interpret the results and decide whether treatment is required.

Should I only be concerned with my total cholesterol number?»

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