The health reports throw the words and anagrams around without too much mention about what they actually are: HDL, LDL, and Triglycerides. While there are many reports and articles on the dangers and the good of cholesterol, triglycerides don’t seem to garner the same attention. Triglycerides are sometimes called the “forgotten fat” when heart disease is mentioned. There is much chatter about LDL and HDL and how cholesterol works, but little about triglycerides and their role in heart disease.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides come from foods. They are the fat that will give a body its energy, but the leftover after that energy will be trapped in the blood. These fats trapped in the blood can lead to hardened arteries, which leads to heart diseases like coronary artery disease. They are calories that have not been used that convert to triglycerides. These fat cells will store up the triglycerides and wait for use in the body, even when more are being made. If you are a woman with fat only on the belly, you may need to have a test to check your triglyceride levels.
Women and Heart Disease
Women are more likely to die of heart disease for many reasons. One of which is that their heart attack symptoms are not like men’s heart attack signs and therefore they do not get immediate treatment on site. According to the numbers issued, 30% of women have cardiovascular disease and 70% of women haven’t even discussed cardiovascular disease with their doctor or healthcare physician. Around 500,000 women in America will die from heart disease each year. Things like HRT and some other women’s medications can raise the triglyceride levels in the body.
Normal Triglyceride Numbers
A standard thorough cholesterol test will give the triglyceride number that you can use to check against this range guide.
- Optimal – Less than 150
- Borderline High – 150-199
- High – 200-499
- Very High – 500 and higher
Cholesterol and Triglycerides
High cholesterol, too low of the good cholesterol, and high triglycerides are a combo knockout punch to good health. Always request a blood test with a yearly physical that will get these checked out in their entirety. Women will have a 37% higher risk of developing heart disease with each 88 point increase in triglyceride numbers. For each woman that has a triglyceride number that is over 200 their risk of developing coronary artery disease will double. These are staggering numbers and reason alone to submit to the simple blood test.
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