{"id":60,"date":"2006-08-04T06:00:15","date_gmt":"2006-08-04T10:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifetosuccess.com\/?p=60"},"modified":"2026-11-05T05:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T11:43:40","slug":"measuring-cholesterol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/","title":{"rendered":"Measuring Cholesterol"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Measuring cholesterol is a useful step toward understanding your heart health. A blood test gives information you cannot reliably judge from how you feel or look.<\/p>\n<h2>What measuring cholesterol includes<\/h2>\n<p>A lipid panel commonly reports total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Results are often reported in milligrams per deciliter, or mg\/dL. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhlbi.nih.gov\/health\/blood-cholesterol\/diagnosis\">National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute<\/a> explains the measurements and how clinicians use them.<\/p>\n<p>Do not interpret one number as a complete assessment. Your healthcare team considers the results alongside your history and other cardiovascular risk factors.<\/p>\n<h2>Prepare for the test<\/h2>\n<p>Ask the clinic whether you need to fast and how to handle your usual medicines. Follow the instructions given for your test rather than assuming every cholesterol check requires the same preparation.<\/p>\n<p>Bring a list of medicines and supplements and any previous results you have. Tell your clinician about relevant family history.<\/p>\n<h2>Ask what your results mean for you<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Which result most needs attention?<\/li>\n<li>What goal fits my individual risk?<\/li>\n<li>What changes or treatment do you recommend?<\/li>\n<li>When should we repeat the test?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A general chart is not a personalized treatment plan. Avoid claims that a small change in total cholesterol always produces a fixed percentage reduction in risk.<\/p>\n<h2>Turn information into a manageable next step<\/h2>\n<p>Write down the plan in plain language and ask for clarification if anything is unclear. Keep a copy of your results so you can discuss changes over time.<\/p>\n<p>Continue with <a href=\"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/hdl-cholesterol-level\/\">understanding HDL<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/lowering-cholesterol\/\">planning cholesterol treatment<\/a>. Knowing your numbers is a starting point for informed action, not a reason to judge yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Measuring cholesterol is a useful step toward understanding your heart health. A blood test gives information you cannot reliably judge from how you feel or look. What measuring cholesterol includes A lipid panel commonly reports total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Results are often reported in milligrams per deciliter, or mg\/dL. The National [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"nfd_image_url":"","nfd_onboarding_generated":"","activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"local","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[43],"tags":[2242,2243],"class_list":["post-60","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-fitness","tag-cholesterol-testing","tag-heart-health"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Measuring Cholesterol: Understand Your Lipid Panel Results<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Measuring cholesterol? Learn what a lipid panel includes, how to prepare, and which questions help your healthcare team turn results into an individual plan.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Measuring Cholesterol\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Measuring cholesterol? Learn what a lipid panel includes, how to prepare, and which questions help your healthcare team turn results into an individual plan.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LifetoSuccess.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lifetosuccess\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-08-04T10:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-05T11:43:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/x.com\/lifetosuccess\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ff53923fbe9c1ec2cd7b244a2e8661d3\"},\"headline\":\"Measuring Cholesterol\",\"datePublished\":\"2006-08-04T10:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-05T11:43:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":266,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"cholesterol testing\",\"heart health\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health &amp; Fitness\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2006\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/\",\"name\":\"Measuring Cholesterol: Understand Your Lipid Panel Results\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-08-04T10:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-05T11:43:40+00:00\",\"description\":\"Measuring cholesterol? Learn what a lipid panel includes, how to prepare, and which questions help your healthcare team turn results into an individual plan.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Measuring Cholesterol\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"LifetoSuccess.com\",\"description\":\"Success One Idea at a Time\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Organization\",\"Place\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"LifetoSuccess.com, LLC\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/#local-main-organization-logo\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/#local-main-organization-logo\"},\"telephone\":[],\"openingHoursSpecification\":[{\"@type\":\"OpeningHoursSpecification\",\"dayOfWeek\":[\"Monday\",\"Tuesday\",\"Wednesday\",\"Thursday\",\"Friday\",\"Saturday\",\"Sunday\"],\"opens\":\"09:00\",\"closes\":\"17:00\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ff53923fbe9c1ec2cd7b244a2e8661d3\",\"name\":\"John\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6352e3512ff869e7918c960231dcef45de589eafb1525dc5ebd6850f1da7466f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6352e3512ff869e7918c960231dcef45de589eafb1525dc5ebd6850f1da7466f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6352e3512ff869e7918c960231dcef45de589eafb1525dc5ebd6850f1da7466f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John\"},\"description\":\"I am a lifelong student of personal development. Since the age of 13, I have looked for ways to make the most of my time and efforts to achieve my goals. Working through this process has provided a tremendous amount of insight into what works and what does not work. Lean on that experience so that you do not have to reinvent the wheel.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.lifetosuccess.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/lifetosuccess\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/lifetosuccess\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/lifetosuccess\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/lifetosuccess\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@LifetoSuccess\",\"https:\\\/\\\/mastodon.social\\\/@lifetosuccess\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/measuring-cholesterol\\\/#local-main-organization-logo\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/LifetoSuccess.com-Logo-1-2.jpg?fit=1472%2C832&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/lifetosuccess.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/LifetoSuccess.com-Logo-1-2.jpg?fit=1472%2C832&ssl=1\",\"width\":1472,\"height\":832,\"caption\":\"LifetoSuccess.com, LLC\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Measuring Cholesterol: Understand Your Lipid Panel Results","description":"Measuring cholesterol? Learn what a lipid panel includes, how to prepare, and which questions help your healthcare team turn results into an individual plan.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Measuring Cholesterol","og_description":"Measuring cholesterol? Learn what a lipid panel includes, how to prepare, and which questions help your healthcare team turn results into an individual plan.","og_url":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/","og_site_name":"LifetoSuccess.com","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lifetosuccess","article_published_time":"2006-08-04T10:00:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-11-05T11:43:40+00:00","author":"John","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/x.com\/lifetosuccess","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/"},"author":{"name":"John","@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ff53923fbe9c1ec2cd7b244a2e8661d3"},"headline":"Measuring Cholesterol","datePublished":"2006-08-04T10:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-05T11:43:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/"},"wordCount":266,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["cholesterol testing","heart health"],"articleSection":["Health &amp; Fitness"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2006","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/","url":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/","name":"Measuring Cholesterol: Understand Your Lipid Panel Results","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2006-08-04T10:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-05T11:43:40+00:00","description":"Measuring cholesterol? Learn what a lipid panel includes, how to prepare, and which questions help your healthcare team turn results into an individual plan.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Measuring Cholesterol"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/","name":"LifetoSuccess.com","description":"Success One Idea at a Time","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Organization","Place"],"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"LifetoSuccess.com, LLC","url":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/#local-main-organization-logo"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/#local-main-organization-logo"},"telephone":[],"openingHoursSpecification":[{"@type":"OpeningHoursSpecification","dayOfWeek":["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday","Sunday"],"opens":"09:00","closes":"17:00"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ff53923fbe9c1ec2cd7b244a2e8661d3","name":"John","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6352e3512ff869e7918c960231dcef45de589eafb1525dc5ebd6850f1da7466f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6352e3512ff869e7918c960231dcef45de589eafb1525dc5ebd6850f1da7466f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6352e3512ff869e7918c960231dcef45de589eafb1525dc5ebd6850f1da7466f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John"},"description":"I am a lifelong student of personal development. Since the age of 13, I have looked for ways to make the most of my time and efforts to achieve my goals. Working through this process has provided a tremendous amount of insight into what works and what does not work. Lean on that experience so that you do not have to reinvent the wheel.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.lifetosuccess.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lifetosuccess","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lifetosuccess\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/lifetosuccess\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/x.com\/lifetosuccess","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LifetoSuccess","https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@lifetosuccess"],"url":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/measuring-cholesterol\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/LifetoSuccess.com-Logo-1-2.jpg?fit=1472%2C832&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/LifetoSuccess.com-Logo-1-2.jpg?fit=1472%2C832&ssl=1","width":1472,"height":832,"caption":"LifetoSuccess.com, LLC"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p68TXc-Y","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4880,"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions\/4880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifetosuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}