Cholesterol Charts (What the Numbers Mean) Glossary of Terms

1. Cholesterol Levels Slideshow Pictures
2. Lower Cholesterol Slideshow: Avoid Heart Disease
3. Take the Cholesterol Quiz

Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the far...

Atherosclerosis: A process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of medium-...

Bile: Bile is a yellow-green fluid that is made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder a...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body. Cholesterol has a reputation for...

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mell...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

Fats: Plural of the word "fat". See the definition of fat.

HDL: High density lipoprotein.

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of bloo...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

High blood pressure: A repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg. Chro...

LDL cholesterol: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, commonly referred to as 'bad' choles...

Lipid: Another word for "fat." (Please see the various meanings of Fat.) A lipid is more f...

Lipid profile: A pattern of lipids in the blood. A lipid profile usually includes the leve...

Lipoprotein: A molecule that is a combination of lipid and protein. Lipids do not travel i...

Lipoproteins: Complexes of lipid and protein, the way lipids travel in the blood.

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

Peripheral: Situated away from the center, as opposed to centrally located.

Peripheral artery disease: A form of peripheral vascular disease in which there is partial...

Peripheral vascular disease: A disease of blood vessels outside the heart. Peripheral vasc...

Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease. For exam...

Serum: The clear liquid that can be separated from clotted blood. Serum differs from plas...

Statins: A class of drugs that lower cholesterol.

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Triglycerides: The major form of fat stored by the body. A triglyceride consists of three ...

Vascular: Relating to blood vessels. For example, the vascular system in the body includes...

Vitamin D: A steroid vitamin which promotes the intestinal absorption and metabolism of ca...