TLC and all the Cs

I have been reading a little lighter fare today - an article in the ACSM Certified News.  The article is about cholesterol factors that are related to coronary heart disease and risk of a cardiovascular event - such as a stroke or heart attack.

Most of us are familiar with the Cs that are tested in annual blood work and the article gives a great overview and glossary of them.  This includes the values associated with the tests.  Sometimes we aim for a higher value and other times a lower one.  In either case, they are a risk factor for disease. 

The tests include:
TC = total cholesterol
HDL-C = high density lipoprotein cholesterol
LDL-C = low density lipoprotein cholesterol
TG = Triglycerides (another blood fat)
VLDL - C = very low density lipoprotein cholesterol

Each of the above tests has a target value and usually a person is trying to get below that number - i.e. below 200 for the TC.  But the HDL value is one where we want to be high.  If that value is above 60 it actually can protect a person from a heart event.  You can read more about specific target values here.

The article describes a newer test as well.  It is not at this time recommended as part of the adult cholesterol panel, but  is used with persons who have very high TG - diabetics often have high TG even when they can control their LDL.
The new value is called Non-HDL and is the difference between TC and HDL.  Literally - take the total cholesterol value and subtract away the high density lipoprotein value and that is your NON-HDL value - if you do not have heart disease and have less than 2 risk factors for heart disease (i.e. your other values are normal) than your Non HDL should be < 190. 

All of our cardiovascular risk factors can be addressed with TLC - that stands for therapeutic lifestyle changes.  TLCs that you may be familiar with include exercise, changes in what you eat (i.e. less red meat and more fish) and weight loss. Learn more about ways to improve your health and prevent heart disease at the American Heart Association website.
Here is the info on the article I referenced today:
Title: LIPIDS AND HEALTH; A GUIDE FOR THE FITNESS PROFESSIONAL
BY: WILLIAM SNYDER; CHANG CHAU; AND SARAH MAKOSH;
AND JAMES R. CHURILLA, PH.D., MPH, M.S., RCEP, CSCS
IN: ACSM’S CERTIFIED NEWS • APRIL—JUNE 2011 • VOLUME 21: ISSUE 2