Hyperlipidemia has high levels of fats in the blood. The term used for the increase of lipid cholesterol and triglycerides. Cholesterol can be measured as total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is often termed "good cholesterol" because high HDL-cholesterol had been shown to protect against heart disease. Conversely, low HDL and high LDL cholesterol have an adverse effect on the heart.
Total Cholesterol
Limits of cholesterol (the concentration in blood is measured in mmol / L):
Less than 5, the desired level
5.0 to 6.4 implies easily elevated cholesterol
6.5 to 7.9 means moderately elevated cholesterol
Higher than 8.0 means expressed elevated cholesterol
Triglycerides
Triglyceride level higher than 2.3 mmol / L is considered elevation.
Lipids as a risk factor
There is a clear association between cholesterol levels and risk of developing diseases of the heart. Elevated levels of triglycerides seem to be an independent risk factor for developing vascular disease of the heart, particularly in women.
Occurrence
In Norway, about 200,000 people a familial hypercholesterolemia in which some of the family has elevated cholesterol and where an inheritance pattern is related to several genes. Closely, 50,000 people have been familial combined hyperlipidemia in which both cholesterol and triglycerides are upraised. Approximately, 10,000 people have elevated cholesterol caused by a defect in a specific genetic material.