Normal Triglyceride Levels In Adults

Finding Out Your Triglycerides Levels

Triglycerides are measured with a simple blood test. Triglyceride levels should be measured when you have a cholesterol test as they can also contribute to your risk of developing heart disease, and other disease of the heart and blood vessels. The triglyceride test measures the triglycerides carried in chylomicrons and VLDL cholesterol. National guidelines in the UK no longer recommend a fasting blood test .

What should your triglyceride levels be?

HEART UK experts state that we should aim for a non-fasting triglyceride level below 2.3mmol/L.

If your doctor has asked you to fast for a test then your triglyceride level should be below 1.7mmol/L. This “fasting test” number is lower because only the triglycerides made by the liver and carried in the VLDL cholesterol will be measured not the triglycerides you get from food. As you have not eaten, there will be no chylomicrons present in your blood.

When To Seek Medical Advice

A high triglyceride level often does not produce any symptoms, so this condition is usually diagnosed during routine blood tests including a lipid panel.

If the patient does not have any medical conditions or bad lifestyle choices, then the doctor usually orders a lipid panel to be done every few years to assess the triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

If the triglyceride levels are detected above the normal range in the lipid panel, then the doctor will usually recommend lifestyle changes, such as exercise and diet as the first line of treatment for hypertriglyceridemia. If diet and exercise are not effective in lowering the high triglycerides, then medications, such as fibrates or statins are prescribed.

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What Strategies Can Be Used To Lower Triglyceride Levels

For many people, high triglycerides are caused by another disorder, such as diabetes, obesity, renal failure, or alcoholism. With these conditions, the strategy is to treat the primary cause. When high triglycerides are not caused by another disorder, they are often seen together with high cholesterol and treatment is directed toward lowering both cholesterol and triglycerides. Lifestyle changes, such as a healthy diet and increased exercise, are usually the primary strategy for lowering levels. If these fail, lipid-lowering medications such as statins are generally recommended. For more on this, visit the American Heart Associationâs webpage on Healthy Living.

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What Do Low Triglyceride Levels Indicate And Can They Be Too Low

In general, having low triglyceride levels is not considered a problem. If your triglyceride levels are less than 150mg/dL, you have a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack or stroke.

However, if your triglyceride levels are extremely low and less than 40mg/dL, then you may have a medical condition or disease, such as liver problems or inflammation. Your risk of dying from heart failure is also higher if triglycerides are too low.

Other causes of very low triglyceride levels include:

• Very low-fat diets

• Certain rare genetic conditions that affect how your body converts fat to energy

What Do I Need To Know Before Getting Screened

A cholesterol test is a simple blood test. Your doctor may tell you not to eat or drink anything except water for 9 to 12 hours before the test. The results give you four measurements:5

• Total cholesterol. About 150 mg/dL is considered optimal.
• LDL cholesterol. About 100 mg/dL is considered optimal. LDL is sometimes called bad cholesterol, because it can build up and clog your arteries, eventually leading to heart disease or stroke.
• HDL cholesterol. It is best to have greater than or equal to 40 mg/dL in men and 50 mg/dL in women. HDL is sometimes called good cholesterol, because it can help clear arteries of cholesterol buildup.
• Triglycerides. This is a type of fat in the blood. Optimal levels are typically less than 150 mg/dL.

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How Do Triglycerides Get Into The Blood

When we eat foods containing triglycerides, such as meat, dairy products, cooking oils and fats, they are absorbed by our intestines and packaged into parcels of fats and protein called chylomicrons . These carry the triglycerides in the blood stream to our tissues to be used for energy straight away, or stored for later.

The body also makes its own supply of triglycerides in the liver. This form is carried in a different type of lipoprotein known as VLDL cholesterol.

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When To Contact A Doctor

While high triglyceride levels typically do not cause symptoms, anyone concerned they may have high triglyceride or cholesterol levels should contact their doctor.

A doctor would usually measure triglyceride and cholesterol levels at the same time as high levels of either may contribute to heart conditions.

Doctors may recommend drug therapies in some cases. This may happen if a person has dangerously high triglyceride levels that need to come down quickly or if their levels do not respond to lifestyle and dietary changes.

Why Are High Triglycerides Bad

Very high levels of triglycerides are associated with liver and pancreas problems.

But studies show conflicting results on the role of high triglycerides and the risk of heart disease. Not all experts agree that triglycerides play a significant role in heart problems.

High triglycerides tend to show up along with other problems, like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, high levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, and low levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. So itâs hard to know for sure which problems are caused by high triglycerides alone.

For instance, some people have a genetic condition that seems to cause high triglyceride levels. But they donât have an increased risk of heart disease. Still, there is some evidence that high triglycerides, on their own, increase the risk of disease. Other studies show that high triglycerides may only play a minor role when other heart disease risks are taken into account.

With ongoing studies, scientists hope to find out whether drugs that lower triglycerides also reduce the risks of heart disease.

Overall, it’s important to remember that improving diet and lifestyle will lower triglycerides and lower the overall risk of heart and blood vessel problems.

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What Are Cholesterol Levels

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that plays many roles in the body, including synthesizing hormones and vitamin D. It also assists in the transporting of lipids. Cholesterol is found in the foods you eat, but it is also made by the liver.

Cholesterol circulating in the blood is carried by special particles called lipoproteins. The two major cholesterol-carrying lipoproteins are low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein :

• LDL cholesterol is often referred to as bad cholesterol because too much of it can build up in your arteries and form plaques, which increases the risk of heart disease.
• HDL cholesterol is often referred to as good cholesterol as it carries cholesterol to the liver to be broken down and excreted.

Since your total cholesterol level is a combination of your LDL cholesterol and your HDL cholesterol, ideally you want to keep your LDL levels low and your HDL levels high. There are many factors that can influence your cholesterol levels, including, diet, exercise, weight, genetics, and other health conditions.

When Is It Ordered

Adults

A lipid profile, which includes triglycerides, is recommended every 4 to 6 years to evaluate risk of heart disease in healthy adults. Children should have a lipid profile screening at least once between the ages of 9 and 11 and once again between the ages of 17 and 21.

Testing may be ordered more frequently when people have identified risk factors for heart disease. Some risk factors for heart disease include:

• Cigarette smoking

• Acceptable: Less than 90 mg/dL
• Borderline high: 90-129 mg/dL
• High: Greater than 130 mg/dL

For young adults older than 19

• Acceptable: Less than 115 mg/dL
• Borderline high: 115-149 mg/dL
• High: Greater than 150 mg/dL

Note: These values are based on fasting triglyceride levels.

When triglycerides are very high ), there is a risk of developing pancreatitis in children and adults. Treatment to lower triglycerides should be started as soon as possible.

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How Often Should I Get A Cholesterol Test

When and how often you should get a cholesterol test depends on your age, risk factors, and family history. The general recommendations are:

For people who are age 19 or younger::

• The first test should be between ages 9 to 11
• Children should have the test again every 5 years
• Some children may have this test starting at age 2 if there is a family history of high blood cholesterol, heart attack, or stroke

For people who are age 20 or older::

• Younger adults should have the test every 5 years
• Men ages 45 to 65 and women ages 55 to 65 should have it every 1 to 2 years

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Causes Of High Triglycerides + Normal Levels

Biljana Novkovic, PhDJonathan Ritter, PharmD, PhD Puya Yazdi, MDBiljana Novkovic, PhD

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How To Get Your Cholesterol Levels Checked

You can buy a test kit that will allow you to check your cholesterol levels at home, but they vary in how accurate they are. Kits that are approved by the FDA and say theyre traceable to a CDC program may be more accurate.

Given the lack of quality control on home health measurements like at-home testing kits, Dr. Fleg says, blood lipids should be measured by an accredited medical laboratory.

The AHA agrees, recommending that a primary care or family doctor assess blood lipid test results.

Getting an accurate cholesterol number is just one aspect of your overall cardiovascular health. You also have to understand what the number means for you personally.

Informed about your health history, family health history, and other risk factors, your doctor will be able to interpret the results better than a test kit. And by keeping track of all your cholesterol readings, your doctor will be able to catch any changes and advise you the best ways to address them.

What Affects My Cholesterol Levels

A variety of things can affect cholesterol levels. These are some things you can do to lower your cholesterol levels:

• Diet. Saturated fat and cholesterol in the food you eat make your blood cholesterol level rise. Saturated fat is the main problem, but cholesterol in foods also matters. Reducing the amount of saturated fat in your diet helps lower your blood cholesterol level. Foods that have high levels of saturated fats include some meats, dairy products, chocolate, baked goods, and deep-fried and processed foods.
• Weight. Being overweight is a risk factor for heart disease. It also tends to increase your cholesterol. Losing weight can help lower your LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. It also raises your HDL cholesterol level.
• Physical Activity. Not being physically active is a risk factor for heart disease. Regular physical activity can help lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol levels. It also helps you lose weight. You should try to be physically active for 30 minutes on most, if not all, days.
• Smoking.Cigarette smoking lowers your HDL cholesterol. HDL helps to remove bad cholesterol from your arteries. So a lower HDL can contribute to a higher level of bad cholesterol.

Things outside of your control that can also affect cholesterol levels include:

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What Is This Test

This group of tests measures the amount of cholesterol and other fats in your blood.

Cholesterol and triglycerides are lipids, or fats. These fats are important for cell health, but they can be harmful when they build up in the blood. Sometimes they can lead to clogged, inflamed arteries, a condition call atherosclerosis. This may keep your heart from working normally if the arteries of your heart muscle are affected.

This panel of tests helps predict your risk for heart disease and stroke.

A lipid panel measures these fats:

• Total cholesterol

• High total cholesterol

If you are already being treated for heart disease, you may have this test to see whether treatment is working.

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Test For Elevated Triglycerides

Doctors check triglyceride levels with a lipid profile, which they may refer to as a cholesterol test. In addition to measuring triglycerides, the test measures levels of HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol.

The state that a person having the test may need to refrain from drinking and eating for 812 hours beforehand. They also recommend the following:

• Healthy adults should have this test every 46 years.
• People with diabetes, heart disease, or a family history of high cholesterol should get the test more often.
• Children should have the test at least once between the ages of 9 and 11 years.
• Young people should have another test between the ages of 17 and 21 years.

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Why The Test Is Performed

Triglycerides are usually measured together with other blood fats. Often it is done to help determine your risk of developing heart disease. A high triglyceride level may lead to atherosclerosis, which increases your risk for heart attack and stroke.

A very high triglyceride level may also cause swelling of your pancreas .

How To Prepare For The Test

You should not eat for 8 to 12 hours before the test.

Alcohol and some medicines can interfere with blood test results.

• Make sure your health care provider knows what medicines you take, including over-the-counter drugs and supplements.
• Your provider will tell you if you need to stop taking any medicines before you have this test.
• DO NOT stop or change your medicines without talking to your provider first.

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Patient Safety And Education

First and foremost, it is essential to educate individuals on a heart-healthy lifestyle. LDL-C is one of the major culprits in the development of atherosclerotic heart disease. The target level of LDL-C is between 50 to 70mg/dl to prevent plaque formation in the blood vessels. Patients should undergo evaluation for 10-year risk and those with more than 10 percent risk guidelines strongly recommend statin therapy. Low levels of HDL-C are related to an increased risk of CVD however, according to recent studies, HDL-C raising therapy showed no clinical benefit therefore, routine use is not recommended.

What Abnormal Results Mean

High triglyceride levels may be due to:

• Other medicines, such as female hormones
• Poorly controlled diabetes
• Disorder passed down through families in which there are high amounts of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood

Overall, the treatment of elevated triglyceride levels focuses on increased exercise and changes in the diet. Drugs to lower triglyceride levels may be used to prevent pancreatitis for levels above 500 mg/dL.

Low triglyceride levels may be due to:

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When Should You See A Doctor

Because high triglyceride levels usually do not cause any symptoms, theyre typically spotted when a doctor orders a blood test that includes a lipid panel.

If you do not have high risk factors, including health conditions and some lifestyle factors, a doctor will order a lipid panel every few years to check cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

If your lipid panel results show above normal triglyceride levels, a doctor may suggest lifestyle changes focused on diet and exercise. If diet and exercise do not have the desired effect, they may recommend medication such as statins or fibrates.

How Often The Triglyceride Level Should Be Tested

According to The American Heart Association, individuals over the age of 20 years should get tested for their triglycerides level about every 4 to 6 years. Testing the levels of triglycerides also depends on your health and can be done more often depending on the doctorâs advice. Children between the ages of 9 and 11 should be checked once and children between the ages of 17 and 21 should also check their triglyceride levels at least once between these ages.

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What Are The Causes And Symptoms Of High Triglycerides

Causes include obesity, eating too much unhealthy food, genetics, certain illnesses including poorly controlled diabetes, kidney disease, and underactive thyroid . Some drugs, such as steroids and birth control pills, and drinking a lot of alcohol can also cause it.

Most people have no symptoms. Very high levels can cause small fat deposits under the skin and a painful inflammation of the pancreas called pancreatitis.

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